The "kings of hashish" open the ban on the trials of the great drug traffickers of the Strait

Isco, the eldest of the brothers of the 'Castaña' clan, entering the trial at the Provincial Court of Algeciras this Monday. Marcos Moreno

Isco Tejón, el

, considered by the police to be the biggest drug trafficker in the Strait along with his brother Antonio, was not willing to speak on Monday.

Nor before the magistrate who judges them for, supposedly, organizing three caches of hashish in 2016;

nor before the press that awaited him in the first trial against one of the great hashish kingpins.

"Don't touch me, I'm not going to say anything.

Talk to the lawyers”, he was right to say at the exit of the section in Algeciras of the Provincial Court of Cádiz.

He had just melted into a hug with his brother, before he, the youngest of the Badgers, had to return to the prison from which he was transferred to the first session of a trial that will last until June.

The Tejón brothers, known among their own as "the kings of hashish", face a sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of four million euros, accused of criminal organization, drug trafficking and possession of weapons, as stated the letter of qualification of the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office.

For most of the rest of the defendants —among whom is a brother-in-law of both and Isco's son—, the prosecutor Macarena Arroyo requests 11 years of imprisonment and the same economic fine.

All of them are considered to be members of a mafia led by the Castañas that, between March and August 2016, organized up to three drug caches —one not intervened and two, yes—, dismantled by the police in the so-called Operation

, just a sample of the dozens of investigation macro-causes that have come later and still continue.

Although many of those now indicted ended up arrested that same year, the two brothers remained on the run for almost two years, just at a time when the impunity of drug trafficking in Campo de Gibraltar reached its most worrying levels with deadly chases, escapes at gunpoint and stashes in broad daylight.

All these events were added to eccentricities, such as the video clip that Isco Tejón himself starred in while he was on the run, to the point of creating a social climate of concern that spread beyond the province of Cádiz.

In response, the government devised a special security plan that has already been in place for four years and that includes thousands of detainees, beyond ground zero where drug traffickers became strong.

Antonio Tejón, the youngest of the Castaña brothers, looks at his brother Isco during the trial at the Algeciras Provincial Court on Monday.

Marcos Moreno

Although the lawyer who directs his defense, Gonzalo Boye, already made it clear on the eve that his intention was for his client not to testify, the truth is that he has not even had the option of not answering yet.

For this first day of the trial presided over by magistrate Nieves Marina, the declaration of the 17 people was scheduled -including the two Tejón brothers-, but the absence of one of the accused has caused a break of more than three hours that has led to postpone the appearance of all those investigated until next Friday, April 22.

The key was to check whether the absence of David MG, accused of being one of those in charge of guarding a nursery — a place where the drug is watched after it is stored — of the Castañas, was really motivated by a health problem,

The magistrate had to wait for the forensic report of a doctor from the Reina Sofía hospital in Jaén – who has certified that his condition will require treatment “in the coming months” – to make the decision that the trial will continue without him, as requested. drug prosecutor Macarena Arroyo.

Despite the fact that the lawyers of the 17 defendants have opposed this option - they have even raised the formal protest against possible appeals - Marina has chosen to continue, since the opposite "would be to suspend the trial, but without a date".

The debate on whether the hearing should be postponed has become the central knot of the case, especially when the trial of another of the big drug traffickers in the area, Jesús Heredia,

, already adds up to two date changes, due to different bureaucratic obstacles that, on this occasion, the president of the court has managed to circumvent.

While the magistrate waited for the aforementioned report, the 15 accused have endured the stop grouped in groups in the corridors of the Court, while Antonio Tejón, the only one who is still in prison, was taken to the dungeons.

In the corridors there have been revealing pictures, such as the relaxed conversation that Isco Tejón has had with some of the three policemen —two nationals and one local— who are being investigated in this case for supposedly “marking the free way” for drug traffickers to commit their caches, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

After the forced recess and after verifying that the case will not be postponed, all of them will have to testify next Friday, although the possibility has already been advanced in the room that many of them will avail themselves of their right not to testify.

Beyond this trial, Operation Ronal also witnessed the powerful money laundering network that the Castañas were supposedly capable of creating, which will be judged later and that involves various family members and frontmen.

The 110,000 euros that the mother of Francisco Tejón's sentimental partner tried to throw out the window, in one of the records, as reported by the prosecutor in her qualification letter, give a good account of this.

In addition, the eldest of the Badgers is investigated for the up to 12 companies that appear linked to him, among which is the couples' exchange place - where he recorded the video clip -, two taxis, a clean point, a party room , a cosmetic surgery center or various hospitality businesses.

During the next sessions, one of the keys to the trial will be to try to show that the Castaña brothers were behind the caches, considered major drug dealers in the area for their ability to reach powerful agreements with drug producers in Morocco.

As evidence, the Prosecutor's Office has accredited Isco's trips to this country, his presence at times and places close to the occurrence of the caches and wiretapping in which he speaks in code.

But Boye disagrees with this evidence —detailed in a procedure of thousands of pages and 30 volumes— and considers that “a person, more than a few facts” has been investigated, according to the defense brief to which EL PAÍS had access.

Added to this is a strategy —common in this type of trial— that will try to blow up key evidence,