Arrests and searches cascade in a Guardia Civil drug raid in Ibiza

Santa Gertrudis. The day has not yet dawned. Several vehicles take up positions around a two-storey detached house located next to the roundabout at the entrance to the town centre. A special operation of the Guardia Civil breaks into the property previously identified by a laborious investigation that began months ago. The entries and searches were carried out simultaneously in other parts of the island, such as Puig d'en Valls, Ibiza and Sant Josep. They were the first sequences of the exploitation phase of an operation that has dismantled a criminal group dedicated to drug trafficking and money laundering.

According to information gathered by Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera, the operation resulted in around ten arrests on Tuesday. The operation also resulted in the seizure of tens of thousands of euros in cash, various quantities of narcotic substances, high-end vehicles and valuable watches.
Search in Santa Gertrudis

At first light, the activity in the Santa Gertrudis house intensifies. Several agents take out of a vehicle all the material necessary for the exhaustive inspection: pickaxes, shovels, scanners, metal detectors... The specialists of the Canine Unit join the searches. One after the other, up to three dogs go into action. Each one has a different target: drugs, money and weapons.
A judicial commission takes note of the progress of the actions and the seizures. In this house, the operation intercepts around 50,000 euros in cash, two valuable watches and a Mercedes SUV valued at more than 300,000 euros. The man who lives with his partner has already been informed of his status as a detainee.

At midday, after more than five hours of meticulous searches, the man of Albanian origin leaves handcuffed and guarded by two Guardia Civil officers to the astonished gaze of some neighbours.
Similar images are seen in a housing estate in Puig d'en Valls, in the area around Can Sifre and in Sant Josep. The detainees are taken to the premises of the Guardia Civil company.

Drug sales points

The first hours of the operation led to the dismantling of several points of sale of narcotic substances. According to information gathered by this newspaper, most of those arrested are from Eastern Europe, originally from Albania.

The raids and searches of homes and commercial premises went on until late in the afternoon. Agents from the Judicial Police and the Central Operational Unit (UCO) from Palma were mobilised for this phase of the operation.

Large deployment

Yesterday's large-scale operation comes on top of two other major operations carried out in recent weeks on the island against criminal groups specialising in drug trafficking and money laundering.

The latest precedent: Operation Vía Fora, carried out on 29 August. The Guardia Civil, the National Police, the Colombian National Police, Europol and the British NCA collaborated in an operation that resulted in 13 arrests in different parts of Ibiza.

This operation seized the largest amount of pink cocaine in Spain: a total of 13.25 kilos that would have reached a market value of close to two million euros. Also seized were 5.6 kilos of ketamine, 16.4 kilos of cocaine and other narcotic substances, as well as 439,000 euros in cash, 30,000 pounds sterling, 12,000 dollars, 10 medium and high-end vehicles and several luxury watches.

A week earlier, on 24 August, an operation by the Guardia Civil, the National Police and the Tax Agency dismantled a network that distributed large quantities of drugs on the island and which had marijuana plantations. More than 20 people were arrested during the operation.