Agents of the National Police, in a joint operation with the Civil Guard, have dismantled an organisation dedicated to the online sale of jelly beans contaminated with synthetic drugs based in Maspalomas and other parts of the Peninsula. The members of the organisation, of Dutch origin, sent the drug by post to all of Europe and had also created a complex network of companies for the concealment and subsequent laundering of money. Seven house searches have been carried out in Maspalomas, among other places. 12.000 bags of jelly beans and snacks impregnated with THC, 281 vapes with liquid cannabis, and 49 packages of different weights containing cocaine have been seized.
The investigation began when the agents received a communication from the Belgian Police according to which a person, of Dutch nationality, had been arrested at a parcel collection point with a shipment of 700 grams of a narcotic substance, specifically synthetic cathinone (3MMC). Four members of the organisation have been arrested, three of Dutch nationality and one Spanish. In addition, seven house searches were carried out in properties on the Costa del Sol, specifically in Malaga, Mijas, Estepona and Maspalomas. In these searches, different types of synthetic drugs, firearms and cash were found. Nearly 620.000 euros have been blocked in national accounts and real estate valued at 1,5 million euros and high-end cars have been frozen. In addition, the arrest of one more individual is expected.
Following this arrest, officers began an investigation to find out which organisation was behind this incident. Investigators discovered that the network that had made the shipment was responsible for many other small, low-value shipments, via different logistics companies and using different recipients. It was noted that during the investigation numerous shipments were made to Maspalomas.
The leaders of the organisation were a Dutch couple, well-positioned on the Costa del Sol, with a high standard of living, with numerous properties and businesses – including a gym – in their name in the peninsular areas. Both, assisted by two lieutenants of Dutch nationality, coordinated the shipments of all kinds of substances.
At one of the couple's numerous meetings, the agents identified a Dutch man who seemed to have a "business" of creating narcotic substances independently of the leaders. The modus operandi of this organisation consisted of acquiring sweets and snacks from different places, such as Holland or directly from factories in Levante, or even from China where the name was different, which they then contaminated with cannabinoids. To avoid being discovered, the members of this group used different storage rooms and properties to store the products. In addition, the main suspect did not live in a single place, but rather he chained together holiday rentals in succession and frequently changed vehicles.
The investigators discovered that the organisation had two storage rooms in the town of Mijas. In one of them they placed legal merchandise such as snacks, sweets or vapes, which did not contain narcotics. Later, after leaving them for a reasonable time, they collected them and took them to one of the properties they had rented, where they had set up a rudimentary kitchen-laboratory where they prepared the mixtures and psychotropic preparations. In this place, they also infused the sweets - they eliminated their external sugars and liquefied the cannabis preparations so that they were impregnated - or they used aerosols to impregnate them. This method is very dangerous for health since it does not allow control of the exact doses, in addition to being more attractive to children and minors. The products were later marketed in Malaga and Holland.
The second phase of the investigation focused on the main branch of the organisation. During this phase, dozens of different synthetic drugs linked to this criminal network were seized, intercepting up to 49 packages containing 3MMC or 2MMC, 78.500 doses of Etizolam, three kilos of MDPHP –derived from the cannibal drug-. To ship these substances, the organisation had created a company that always appeared as the sender of the shipments. The organisation had built a commercialisation of drug trafficking, through this company created by themselves, carrying out the sale of synthetic drugs in a covert manner under their declared legal activity. The recipients of the drugs paid the price through bank transfers, with more than one and a half million euros entering the account during the period analysed. The company declared this income as the sale of products such as chemical raw materials, vitamin or sports products. The organization displayed a high degree of sophistication, both in drug trafficking and money laundering.
