Toledo.- The Civil Guard, together with the National Police and the Customs Surveillance Service, have arrested 13 people who formed an international criminal organization dedicated to the trafficking of cocaine from South America to Europe. A macro laboratory for the extraction and processing of cocaine hydrochloride has been dismantled in an industrial building in the town of Gerindote (Toledo). Four more searches have also been carried out in different locations in the Community of Madrid, with the seizure of 100,000 euros in cash, five firearms or bulletproof vests, among others; in addition to interventions in Malaga, La Rioja and Bizkaia, in our country, and in Cartagena (Colombia).
The investigations of this operation, called “Sircan”, date back to 2022, when the Civil Guard discovered the possible trafficking of cocaine from South America to Europe by hiding it in maritime containers destined for Rotterdam (Netherlands). From there it was distributed to Spain and to different European points.
The joint police actions discovered the existence of a macro clandestine cocaine laboratory in a town in Toledo. It was located in an industrial estate, integrated with other businesses and industries, giving a totally licit appearance. However, inside the ship, various units specifically designed for the extraction and processing of cocaine hydrochloride had been conditioned. The laboratory was operated by Colombian “cook” experts brought expressly by the organization to process the narcotic substance.
The main area of the laboratory was organized into several distinct zones: extraction, precipitation and filtering, and finally, pressing and packaging. In each of these areas, a continuous activity was carried out, in shifts during the 24 hours of the day, aimed at the processing of cocaine base and its subsequent transformation into cocaine hydrochloride, which was presented in the form of “bricks” and sealed with the different logos used by the organization to differentiate its product in the illicit market.
At the time of the intervention, the laboratory was in full production and with substance in different phases of the process, from liquid mixtures of cocaine base with solvents, to already the cocaine hydrochloride finished. Between 7 and 8 tons of corn flour used as a means of concealment and transport, impregnated with cocaine base, were intervened. There were also 9 kilos of cocaine already processed and packaged ready for sale, of great purity close to 93%.
During the dismantling of the infrastructure, 3,500 kilos of different precursors, both solid and liquid, used in the various phases of the extraction and processing of the drug were intervened. The laboratory was equipped with all the necessary tools and materials, constituting for the organization a stable and continuous source of production of narcotic substances.
In addition to cocaine hydrochloride, several smaller quantities of other substances have been seized, such as pink cocaine, MDMA, popers, marijuana, 90 erectile dysfunction tablets and Paprika bags exactly the same as those contained in the container seized in the port of Cartagena (Colombia), with almost one ton of cocaine.
Interventions in Colombia and in five Spanish provinces
The operation was developed in three main phases. The first, carried out in Cartagena (Colombia) in April 2025, where about a ton of cocaine hydrochloride was seized.
The second and main phase was carried out in February of this year in Spain. In it, the laboratory was dismantled in Gerindote (Toledo) and four more records were made in different localities of the Community of Madrid. Seven people, including the leader of the criminal organization, were arrested during this intervention. Around 100,000 euros were seized in cash, five firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition of different calibres, three bulletproof vests, two incapacitating electric pistols, a cash counting machine, mobile phones, documentation of interest, a large quantity of narcotic substances and three high-end vehicles.
The last phase took place in March, with interventions in the provinces of Malaga, La Rioja and Bizkaia, where around 70,000 euros were seized in cash, from drug trafficking, or luxury brand watches, among other effects. The operation culminated in the practice of the remaining arrests, with a total of 13 members of the criminal organization arrested.
Investigation of Laundering
At the same time, the Toledo Operational Unit of Customs Surveillance has carried out the study of the patrimonial and economic relations between those investigated, which have resulted in the adoption of precautionary measures against seven properties, 17 vehicles and eleven bank accounts.
The investigation has been carried out by the Judicial Police of the Civil Guard in Toledo, together with the Superior Police Headquarters of Madrid and the Customs Surveillance Service. In Colombia, it was the Colombian Anti-Narcotics Police that carried out the inspection and apprehension at the port of origin.
During the development of the operation, international police cooperation between various countries of the North and South America (EE.UU has been of great importance. Colombia, Peru and Uruguay), as well as Europe (France, the Netherlands and Portugal), having even carried out operational activity in Colombia, Peru and Portugal, which has been crucial for the important result achieved.
