“Risitas” controlled the Port of Algeciras from prison

“Risitas” was the true owner and lord of the drug traffickers in the Port of Algeciras. In his business he hired truckers and port agents who, under his legal cover, facilitated the work of the criminal organization. The Civil Guard He has arrested about thirty people from this gang that was dedicated to the sale of cocaine. In the records, the agents have managed to seize more than a ton of this narcotic substance.

‘Operation Kiken’ deals a heavy blow to the power of drug traffickers in the Campo de Gibraltar. It has been developed by the Civil Guard in collaboration with Europol and the agents have managed to dismantle this organization that was dedicated to introducing large amounts of cocaine from South America through the Port of Algeciras.

In total, investigators have arrested 30 people, have seized more than 1,000 kilos of cocaine and have carried out 23 house searches in the Cádiz towns of Algeciras, San Roque and Los Barrios.

The inspections have involved 10 vehicles, 172,000 euros in cash, 40 kilograms of cocaine, an assault rifle and two short firearms, jewelry and watches of high economic valuea large number of cutting tools for opening maritime containers and uniformed garments for port stevedores to camouflage inside the container terminals.

The operation against drug traffickers began in September 2022 when investigators detected a group of truckers, all of them under the umbrella of the same Algeciras freight transport company, who would be making use of their work activity to access a terminal from the Port and extract cocaine hidden inside the containers.

500 kilos of cocaine

This fact was confirmed in December 2022, when 500 kilos of cocaine were seized at the exit of the Port of Algeciras in nine suitcases hidden in the cabin of a truck. In that performance, this trucker and five other people who were traveling in another truck that had accessed the Port terminal at the same time and whose function was to open the container in the same terminal to take out the suitcases and put them in the first truck.

Investigators identified and located the other members of the organization, including its leaders. In the process, they discovered that heThe gang was led by a well-known Spanish drug trafficker, nicknamed “Risitas”, who during the investigation had been arrested and admitted to a Valencian prison. However, the agents also arrested two lieutenants responsible for the operational and logistics branch of the organization.

A large number of drug workers

The first of them had the main functions of directing and organizing drug extraction operations, for which he made use of people he trusted. The other lieutenant was the operations manager of a freight transport company in Algeciras, which was in charge of looking for truckers to participate in these operations, for whom it facilitated access to the terminal using the company’s credentials.

The modus operandi of the narcos was always the same, two trucks accessed the terminal of the Port of Algeciras with the appearance of carrying out legal activities. One of them carried the “colla” who, once in the Terminal courtyard, would open the container to extract the bags containing the cocaine from inside. Next, they loaded the bags onto the second truck, to then leave the Port in the truck they had come on.

To support operations inside the Port, the organization had a large number of people who controlled any police movement that could hinder their activities. In addition, it has been possible to identify and arrest those responsible for the drug distribution branch, who divided and cut the merchandise to sell it and supply it at a lower level.

The narco ran from jail

During the course of the investigation, and when part of the members of the organization were already known, as well as the methodology used, the investigators detected that the criminals were going to make a new stash. Once again, the attempt was frustrated by the investigative unit, which managed to intercept the two trucks, one of which was carrying 500 kilos of cocaine hidden in the cabin and to the “colla” that was trying to leave the Port after the extraction of the drug.

Despite the fact that the leader of the organization was in prison, it has been proven that one of his lieutenants was traveling from Algeciras to the Penitentiary Center in Valencia the previous days to these facts, to coordinate the details of the operations.

The investigation has been carried out by the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police (UOPJ) of Algeciras with the collaboration of the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard (UCO) and EUROPOL and has been directed by the Investigating Court number 5 of Algeciras and coordinated by the Campo de Gibraltar Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office.