An international operation led by the Spanish National Police and the French Anti-Drug Office (OFAST) dismantled an alleged structure of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) that introduced more than 2.5 tons of methamphetamine into Spanish territory through a sophisticated method of concealment in commercial shipments from Mexico.
The authorities reported that 13 people were detained, of which seven are Mexican, four Spanish and two Colombian. Twelve of those arrested remain in preventive detention while investigations continue.
According to investigators, the drug was dissolved in approximately 12 tons of liquid vanilla flavor transported in plastic bottles inside a maritime container destined for a logistics company in the province of Barcelona. Subsequently, the substance was transferred to a clandestine laboratory installed on an isolated farm in Almenar, in the province of Lleida.
There, the members of the organization recovered methamphetamine through “complex chemical processes of extraction, purification and crystallization,” a procedure that allowed them to produce up to 800 kilograms of drugs in just two or three days, according to estimates by the National Police.
The laboratory was located in a strategic point near France
Authorities noted that the location of the laboratory was not chosen at random. The farm was located in an area with extensive road connections and close to the border with France, which facilitated the distribution of drugs to different European markets.
The investigation began in early June, when French authorities detected a suspicious maritime container coming from Mexico. From that moment on, agents from both countries permanently monitored the shipment until confirming that the organization had begun the recovery of the methamphetamine.
The final operation was deployed on July 10 and 11, when the agents intervened simultaneously in different properties in the provinces of Lleida, Barcelona and Tarragona, managing to dismantle the group's entire logistics infrastructure.
According to the Spanish Police, five of the seven detained Mexicans are from the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco, identified as one of the main strongholds of the CJNG, while the other two come from Sinaloa.
During the presentation of the case, the chief inspector of the synthetic drugs section, Alejandro Martín, warned that “methamphetamine is no longer a threat, it is a reality,” referring to the increase in this type of drug in Europe. However, he specified that, unlike the United States, “fentanyl has not reached Spain.”
Investigators consider that this operation represents one of the most important blows against the CJNG infrastructure in Europe and will allow us to delve deeper into the international networks used by criminal organizations to introduce synthetic drugs to the continent.
