The drug lab was discovered in Amposta, a municipality in the Catalonia region. The 20,000 inhabitants of the place had fainted that they lived in the midst of a huge, hidden production center where one party after the other was played XTC pills.
During the operation of the police, drugs worth 31 million euros were seized, and the alleged leader of the network, a 30-year-old Dutchman who would have ties with the Mocro-Mafia, was arrested.
Our country played a crucial role in rolling up the criminal gang. The Spanish investigation started after the Dutch authorities had pointed out investigators to a building where synthetic substances were reportedly produced.
In the Netherlands there was already an investigation into the criminal organization that was involved in drug trafficking, and that led to the Spanish region. In that investigation, in which the Dutch and Spanish police quickly collaborated, the 30-year-old Dutchman was arrested at the end of May.
The Spanish agents recently arrived at a warehouse on an industrial estate in Amposta, which seemed unused, so that no one got suspicious. However, the building had very advanced facilities.
“To use such a drug lab, chemical knowledge is needed, and not only chefs who only have to follow instructions,” chief inspector Alejandro Martín told the Spanish medium ABC. He explains that the number of dismantled laboratories for synthetic drugs has risen in the past two years.
Dutch people arrested at dismantling Drug Lab Spanish Amposta
Spain is a sought -after country for criminals who deal with synthetic drugs, because there are many isolated areas where they do not stand out, and because many buildings have been vacant for a long time. In addition, the distance to Morocco – many suspects have their roots in this country – is not far, and the practical reason for the nice weather also plays a role.
“This gang transported the drugs in a van, to other parts of Europe,” said the chief inspector. The XTC that was made was therefore not intended for the Spanish market.
The factory in Amposta, which had a production capacity of approximately 100 kilos of synthetic drugs per month, would have been led by the 30-year-old Dutchman. He ‘came and went’ according to the suspicion of coordinating the activities, and would have had an extensive network of contacts in Spain and Colombia.
A huge amount of raw materials for drugs was found. © Spain Police/The Netherlands
Two chefs were working in the building and also someone who acted as a security guard and supervised the storage place. During the raid, the MDMA police – the effective raw material of XTC – seized in various forms. It concerned more than 2000 kilos. An amount of tens of thousands of euros was also found.
The leader of the network was the link between the criminal organization and the chefs, which processed the raw materials in the laboratory until drugs arose. In this role they also traveled from the Netherlands to Catalonia.
The security measures that the ’employees’ took were very strict and extensive. For example, they always moved to other addresses after a short time, and they avoided any contact with people from outside the group, the police reported. The strict assignment they had received: anonymity and not standing out, so no presence on social media.
Encrypted phones and crypto currency
The building was also heavily guarded in other ways. In addition to surveillance cameras in the warehouse and the person who worked as a guard, the people involved used encrypted telephones and crypto currency as a means of payment to thwart a possible police investigation. It didn’t help them in the end.
In a second phase of the operation, which was given the name Ajax, investigators tracked down a woman who had traveled from the Netherlands to Tarragonona ‘to visit other members of the gang’. After the meeting, according to the police, they went to a do-it-yourself store to buy material that they brought to the laboratory.
On June 25, agents searched the space and dismantled the secret laboratory. It consisted of six different departments, including for storage, but also distillation, crystallization, filtering and weighting. The costs of the material amounted to more than a million euros.
The building also had six industrial reactors – some of which are double -walled of 1000 liters – and distillers that are suitable for processes at high temperatures. In addition to 31,000 liters of liquid precursors – chemicals that are converted into another substance during a reaction – 722 liters of MDMA oil and 2085 kilos of fixed precursors were also discovered.
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The operation reached its peak. First, June 25, the two alleged chefs and the alleged guard were arrested during the raid. According to the Dutch police, two men (23 and 41) are without a permanent place of residence or residence, and a 28-year-old man from Leiden.
Dutch woman (23) also arrested
On July 2, the woman – a 23 -year -old Dutch – was arrested by the Spanish police on suspicion of involvement in the drug lab. Just like the others, it is accused of a crime against public health, and membership of a criminal organization.
The alleged leader had already been arrested in May, in nearby Cambrils, but he did not let go much. He has since been delivered to the Netherlands and is stuck.