A cat scratching post was ready to be shipped from Madrid to Australia. The shipment was going to be made through a parcel company. The recipient was expecting something else: a stash of cocaine hidden in the scraper tubes. With this modus operandihiding drugs in cat toys, car parts, chocolates and other objects, a criminal organization that operated from the capital trafficked to several countries. The National Police announced this Thursday the capture of 14 members of this structure, as well as the seizure of 14 kilos of narcotic substance, 11,000 euros in cash, seven firearms, four knives and various high-value items.
The investigation began in August of last year. The police were notified by a logistics company about a suspicious package destined for Venezuela. Inside they located an inflatable pool that hid 460 MDMA and MDMA pills in rock (synthetic drugs). After the discovery, investigators confirmed that the seized shipment was associated with a criminal organization established in 2023 and operating from Madrid. The courier company was suspicious of that package because, previously, it had been contacted from Venezuela, after the authorities of that country intercepted a shipment with the same characteristics – an inflatable pool that hid drugs – that came from Spain.
Later, the police seized two other packages. The first, destined for Chile, contained 5,000 MDMA pills. The second, which was going to be sent to Australia, hid 257 grams of cocaine. The latter was a test to check the viability of the route. After intercepting the packages and identifying the people who were part of the criminal organization, on October 7, nine searches were carried out in various locations in the Community of Madrid – Collado Mediano, Parla and Coslada – and one in Peñíscola (Castellón). Francisco González, head of the organized crime section of the Madrid Judicial Police Brigade, has detailed that this organization camouflaged the drugs in “curious elements”, such as an inflatable toy pool, hydraulic jacks, shock absorbers, a cat scratcher and a box of chocolates “perfectly presented, with bags of cocaine in each of them.”
In the operations, more than 14 kilos of narcotic substance, more than 11,000 euros in cash and infrastructure for the production, preparation and shipment of drugs abroad were seized. The police also seized 18 mobile phones, seven firearms, four knives, a high-capacity packaging machine, two vehicles, ten shock absorbers modified to hide drugs and high-value items such as watches, jewelry, bags, glasses and jewelry.
After the arrests, the 14 members of the group were brought to justice. Four of them have been placed in provisional prison as alleged perpetrators of crimes of permanence in a criminal organization and against public health. González has stressed that one of the people who organized the shipments was operating from prison, where he is awaiting extradition. The authorities continue to analyze the mobile phones and the seized documents to identify new connections and shipments not yet detected.
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