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Date Published: 17/01/2022

ARCHIVED - French gang that used helicopters to smuggle drugs dismantled in Malaga

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The criminal organisation flew drugs into Spain from Morocco in the dead of night

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - French gang that used helicopters to smuggle drugs dismantled in Malaga

The authorities in Andalucía have brought down an enormous drug trafficking operation which used high performance helicopters and vehicles to smuggle narcotics into Spain. The operation culminated in July last year when undercover cops observed one of the traffickers landing a helicopter in the Sierra de Torremolinos in Málaga before stashing 211 kilos of hashish in nearby bushes.

The entire operation was filmed before the Guardia Civil arrested the suspect and seized his R-44 helicopter, the preferred model used by drug traffickers transporting their loads between Morocco and Spain.

This type of covert air procedure, which authorities consider practically a suicide mission, has become more frequent in recent years despite the inherent dangers. Usually the aircraft are in a state of disrepair and flown by inexperienced pilots, not to mention the fact that they are travelling at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour in the dark, without any lights.

Just last spring, an R-44 plummeted into the sea after taking off in Estepona and a similar accident two years ago in Pedrera in Seville claimed the lives of the two passengers. On this most recent occasion, the Andalusian authorities confirmed that the seized helicopter was actually in great condition and was flown by an experienced pilot who had learned his skills during the Balkan War.

The investigation began back in August 2020 when the Guardia Civil on the Costa del Sol learned of a group of French people of Moroccan origin who were using stolen and rented vehicles to traffic their drugs between Spain and Paris.

The different facets of the criminal operation spread as far as Marbella, Villanueva del Trabuco, Humilladero, La Linea, Almunecar and Velez-Rubio; in all, officers have seized almost 2.5 tonnes of hashish and 112 kilos of marijuana.

In Toledo, a notorious drug smuggler known as ‘the Spanish Pablo Escobar’ was also arrested recently.

Image: Guardia Civil

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