Almost 30 arrests in Orihuela Costa, Torrevieja, San Miguel de Salinas along with the seizure of €562,000 and almost 300 kilos of narcotics
The Civil Guard and the National Police in Vega Baja and in the province of Valencia have dismantled an organisation made up mostly of Lithuanians that was engaged in the importation and distribution of drugs and the sale of firearms on the black market. In the operation, 29 people have been arrested and nearly 300 kilos of cocaine, heroin and hashish have been seized.
The investigation began in August 2022, when the first drug smuggling was detected in Albacete. The agents intercepted a vehicle with two occupants on the A-31, who were arrested when they found a package containing one-kilogram of cocaine in the boot.
The investigators identified the gang that was structured into two well-differentiated branches with strong ties to each other.
Last November, during the surveillance of a property used by the gang in Bétera (Valencia), two people, both unrelated to the organisation, were arrested for stealing drugs from another criminal organization.
The agents were then able to arrest two more people, seizing 108 grams of cocaine, 280 MDMA pills, 195 kilos of hashish, 74 methamphetamine pills and 60 x 9mm cartridges.
Also in November, nine house searches were carried out in the towns of La Eliana, Godelleta, Gandia, Tavernes de la Valldigna, Picanya and in Valencia, where 11 people of Spanish and Colombian nationality were arrested, seizing more than half a million euros, 90 kg of cocaine, four kg of heroin, four firearms, nine high-end vehicles.
With the bulk of the organization dismantled, a second phase was then implemented with nine house searches in Orihuela Costa, Torrevieja and San Miguel de Salinas. Twelve members of the organization, all of Lithuanian nationality, were arrested for drug trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and for belonging to a criminal organization. The police seized two 9 mm firearms with the serial number erased, a blank weapon, four beacons, €17,000 in cash, a farm of 100 marijuana plants, and five high-end vehicles together with a motorcycle and various mobile devices.
Among the detainees, one is considered a HVT (high value target) by Europol, two Europol agents from which have travelled and actively participated in the searches. Another of the gang has a European Arrest Warrant issued by Lithuania, where he was sentenced to six years in prison.
This operation was carried out jointly by agents of the UCO (ECO Levante) of the Civil Guard and Udyco Murcia of the National Police.
