National Police smash Torrevieja cocaine gang

Police in Torrevieja have dismantled a criminal gang that used ‘tuned up’ cars to conceal drugs.
Reports this week revealed that officers discovered 11 kilos of cocaine hidden in a secret compartment built into the floor of a car and another 3 kilos in second car, hidden behind the dashboard.
According to the press liaison of the National Police, three people were arrested in the operation. Those arrested are accused of using “sophisticated” drug concealment techniques with hydraulic mechanisms. The drugs would be concealed in modified cars with the hope of going unnoticed when passing through a police checkpoint. The members of the group, who police claim did not hesitate to use violence and possessed firearms, were arrested when they were transporting 11 kilos of cocaine hidden in a compartment located in the floor of a vehicle and another three kilos in the dashboard of a second vehicle. In total, 15 kilos of cocaine, 25,000 euros in cash, three handguns and four vehicles, two of them with hidden compartments for transporting the drug, were seized by police.
The investigation began when police became aware of the existence of the gang, whose members were based in the Alicante province area. Officers believed the gang to be engaged in the distribution of cocaine and frequently changing cars to avoid being detected by the authorities. In addition the vehicles were registered in the name of a third party who agreed to appear as the owner, thus facilitating the anonymity of the gang members.
Once enough evidence was gathered, National Police gave the green light to the operation to arrest the suspects in Torrevieja, during which they intercepted two of the vehicles used by the organization. At the time of the arrest, one of the members of the group rammed the police vehicle causing injuries of varying degrees to three of the police officers.
After the initial arrests, officers carried out two house raids, one of them in Urbanova (Alicante), where three loaded handguns were found as well as a dagger and 20,500 euros in cash hidden in different parts of the house; in another raid, carried out in Torrevieja, a kilo of cocaine and 3,500 euros were found.