Cocaine hidden in medical supplies: a gang that sent drugs to Australia by plane is busted.

BarcelonaApparently, the packages loaded onto the commercial planes contained thermal sheets and latex gloves, medical supplies that had to be urgently sent to Australia. But it was all a ploy to avoid ladders and checkpoints. Inside the packages, in fact, were kilograms and kilograms of powdered cocaine. If they arrived in Australia, the deal was done: there, the price of this drug increases by 1,000%. But they were caught before they sent the last shipment.

The National Police have seized up to 378 kilograms of cocaine from a transport company located in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone and from an industrial warehouse in El Prat de Llobregat. According to the Spanish police force's announcement this Monday, its officers have arrested a man for being part of this criminal organization, and they are continuing to investigate to arrest more members. The investigation began a year ago, when the Barcelona Provincial Judicial Police Brigade learned of the possible existence of this company.

This is a company that fed off the structure of another company dedicated to the purchase of medical products, also from Barcelona. Once they obtained the blankets and gloves, they hid cocaine in the industrial warehouse at El Prat. They then used a technique that is becoming increasingly common among drug cartels: sending the camouflaged packages by airmail. The members of this group even controlled the routes the planes would follow to avoid certain stopovers where more controls are carried out.

In prison

The arrest of the alleged perpetrator took place at a home in Cornellà de Llobregat, and the man has already been imprisoned while awaiting trial after being brought before the investigating court number 3 of El Prat. However, the investigation is still open. In fact, Australian police are also involved in identifying the criminal group that received the drug shipments.

It is not new that criminal drug groups based in Catalonia see Australia as a market opportunity, as drugs sell for a much higher price. Nor is it new that they use urgent air shipments to transport narcotics. In December of last year, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan Police), the Civil Guard, and the Australian Federal Police They dismantled a gang that sent synthetic drugs to AustraliaThey also sent it by courier, and in this case, they hid it among baby products. The operation resulted in eleven arrests.