Spain's largest heroin importer arrested in Toledo

Arrest of the main importer of heroin from Spain. National Police

Agents of the National Police have arrested in Toledo the main importer of heroin from Spain, nicknamed by investigators as the “Spanish Pablo Escobar of heroin”, and have dismantled the organization that he allegedly directed in an operation in which 55 have been intervened kilos of that substance, one of the largest seizures of this drug in recent years, as reported by the National Police this Sunday.

The detainee had his base of operations in the province of Toledo and made "large imports" of heroin from the Netherlands to distribute it in Madrid, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura, details the note from the National Police.

Along with the ringleader, nine other people (six men and three women) have been arrested, and eight searches have been carried out in different homes in Madrid, Toledo and Cáceres, as well as in a vehicle dealership and a mechanical workshop, both in Cáceres .

Of the ten members of the organization arrested, eight have been imprisoned.

The leader of the group, whose identity has not been disclosed, is considered by investigators as "the Spanish Pablo Escobar of heroin", is closely related to an international drug trafficking group led by a Turkish citizen known as

🚩 The main importer of #heroin in Spain has been arrested and the organization he led has been dismantled

55 kg of heroin have been seized, one of the main arrests in recent years

His base of operations was in #Toledo and he acquired the drug in the #Netherlands pic .twitter.com/cteWzN4LYA

– National Police (@policia) January 16, 2022

Infrastructure in Toledo

The first investigations took place last March when the agents detected that the main suspect had contacted known heroin traffickers, among them the leader of a famous clan in the sale of this drug in Cañada Real (Madrid).

After months of investigations, the agents discovered that this criminal network had most of its infrastructure in the province of Toledo.

The organization had various farms and homes in various locations in this province, mainly in rural areas, which they used to hide drug shipments.

After adulterating it to increase the volume of drugs and obtain higher profits - they proceeded to distribute them to various clans and criminal groups in Madrid, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura.

Among the direct collaborators of the ringleader, his lieutenant based in Toledo was identified;

the man who acted as a courier for the concealment and custody of heroin consignments in his home, also in Toledo;

as well as another man settled in Madrid who performed the functions of courier for the reception and delivery of the drug.

As a security measure, the person in charge of the organization regularly acquired several telephone terminals to distribute them among the members of his organization.

It was also learned that he had the support of a married couple who led a clan for the distribution of the narcotic substance, mainly in the Cañada Real.

This clan had infrastructure in Cáceres, where it ran a business for the sale of vehicles that they allegedly used to launder the profits obtained from the sale of heroin.

Trip to Istanbul to negotiate the purchase

The agents found out that the leader of the plot had made two trips to Istanbul (Turkey) in July and September of last year, to negotiate the importation of drug shipments with the Turkish organization.

Later, in November, the arrest of a married couple, who were part of the lower distribution echelons, took place when they were driving on the M-30 in Madrid without insurance or having passed the ITV.

After stopping them, they began to flee at high speed while throwing several drug packages out the window containing five kilograms of heroin in total. Finally, and after an intense persecution, they were intercepted and detained in Getafe (Madrid).

Last December, the agents found out that the group was waiting for the arrival of a large shipment of drugs. The man who acted as a courier had traveled by car to a service station located on A-1, at the height of La Cabrera (Madrid). There he contacted the driver of a truck with Bulgarian registration, from which three large boxes were removed from the trailer and placed in a vehicle. Immediately afterwards, he undertook a trip to Toledo, but was intercepted at a gas station on the A-42, in Fuenlabrada (Madrid), and 85 packages containing a total of more than 51 kilograms of heroin were found in the car. Both suspects were arrested.

The investigations indicated that the drug came from the Netherlands and that the man who acted as mail had to transfer the heroin to a safe house in Toledo, where the ringleader, his lieutenant and the courier were waiting.

Suspecting that there had been a problem, two of them left the place and the third remained guarding his house, which served as a cove.

The device culminated in the arrest of the three and the subsequent search of their homes, in which a large press for making packages of heroin, 21,000 euros in cash, a shotgun, a pistol, a revolver, ammunition were found. for all weapons, different telephone terminals and six cars.

In December, there was also the arrest of a married couple in charge of drug distribution in Cañada Real (Madrid) and two other house searches were carried out, one in the same location and the other in the province of Cáceres.

A car dealership and a mechanical workshop, both located in Cáceres, were also registered.

As a result, the agents seized more than 51,000 euros in cash, molds for pressing and making packages of heroin, jewelry and luxury watches, a pistol, a revolver, a shotgun, ammunition, twelve cars and a motorcycle.