Ten people have been arrested, including two Catalan businessmen, and 60 kilos of cocaine seized in Algeciras in an operation codenamed ‘Iroco’.
Operation ‘Iroco’ began in May 2010 when the Spanish Embassy in Colombia alerted the Spanish authorities that there were plans to ship cocaine from South America in ships carrying timber.
The Catalan businessmen allegedly set up a company, Reus, to cover the illegal goings-on. One of the owners made several trips to Colombia, Ecuador and Panama to arrange shipments.
First was a ‘test’ shipment, to see if they encountered any problems with the police or customs in Algeciras. The police discovered the test shipment but as far as the smugglers were concerned, everything went according to plan and another, larger shipment was arranged.
This is the eighth major drug operation so far this year, which has led to the arrest of a total of 66 people and the seizure of more than four tons of drugs, both cocaine and hashish.