Agents of the Narcotics Brigade of the National Police of Burgos receive the medal of Merit of Civil Protection

• The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, has presided over an act in which she has highlighted the tenacity and perseverance of the agents of the brigade in the fight against drug trafficking • Between 2020 and 2022, these agents carried out 61 operations in which there were 100 detainees and in which 64 kilos of cocaine, 350 kilos of hashish, 78 kilos of marijuana, 47 kilos of speed, 11 kilos of ketamine and 59 vehicles were seized • Last year, on the occasion of Operation Caníbal, they seized, for the first time, 420 synthetic kilos This intervention was carried out jointly with the DEA and allowed the arrest in the Netherlands of one of the most dangerous drug traffickers in Europe.

June 12, 2023.- The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, presided this morning in Burgos the institutional act by which the Drug Group belonging to the Provincial Judicial Police Brigade of the Burgos Police Station has been awarded the Merit of Civil Protection medal.

In total, ten agents have been decorated with the bronze medal and blue badge, with which the relevant collaboration with the National Civil Protection System is distinguished. These agents have been able to carry out in recent years, with great dedication, effort over and above what is required by the duty and vocation of public service, extremely important operations against drug trafficking in the province of Burgos that have made it possible to remove large quantities of narcotic substances from the streets and thereby avoid the very serious damage that these drugs cause to the health of their consumers.

The government delegate explained to the decorated agents that she was “proud” to preside over the event and that the recognition was the result of the “very important service provided to the citizens.”

ONE HUNDRED DETAINEES

Between 2020 and 2022 the Narcotics Brigade of the Provincial Commissariat of Burgos carried out 61 operations in which there were 100 detainees. During these interventions, in three years, 64 kilos of cocaine were seized; 350 kilos of hashish, 78 kilos of marijuana, 47 kilos of speed, 11 kilos of ketamine and 59 vehicles in addition to a considerable amount of cash.

Among those interventions, he highlighted the Operation ‘Game Over’ developed in 2021 in which eight people were arrested and subsequently imprisoned. This action was carried out jointly with the Narcotics Group of the General Commissariat of Judicial Police, Civil Guard and the Judicial Police Unit of the Basque Country, and brought “major results, out of the ordinary”, in the words of Barcones.

As early as 2022, Operation ‘Cannibal’ developed with the UDYCO Central, the DEA of the United States and the National Police of the Netherlands. In it, the narcotics unit of Burgos seized 20 kilos of 4CMC. It was the first intervention of this synthetic drug in Spain. This operation was carried out in parallel in the Netherlands where 240 kilos of 3CMC drugs were seized and one of the largest and most dangerous drug traffickers in Europe was arrested.

“Your success was evidenced by the transcendence that Operation Cannibal had in the media, beyond the normal for a Provincial Commissariat. The operation was dealt with in national news, television interviews, press or radio reports,” explained Virginia Barcones in his address to the agents.

This year, the Burgos Narcotics Brigade has carried out several actions including Operation ‘Trumpet’, with 3 detainees and the intervention of 10,000 grams of hashish; Operation ‘REBOTE’, with 2 detainees and the seizure of 500 grams of cocaine; and Operation ‘CARACORTADA’ in which a black crack distribution point has been dismantled in the neighborhood of Gamonal and in which there were two detainees. In addition, he has collaborated with the Local Police Station of La Linea de la Concepción, intercepting a truck in the town of Estépar. This action involved 250 kilos of hashish and 90 kilos of cocaine that were transiting to France.

The delegate of the Government recalled that Burgos, due to its geographical location, is an ideal place for criminal drug trafficking groups to establish their bases since they allow “an agile movement of drugs in transit to other autonomous communities. That makes them harder to spot, which forces you to be even more attentive. And therefore your work has so much merit,” he said.

He stressed that the Burgos Police Station is aware of this situation and hence the “constant, tenacious, persevering” work carried out by the Narcotics Brigade. “Identification and follow-up work that takes days, weeks or months so the results are not the result of chance.”

“I imagine that during all that time there are also many frustrations, but I know that you are always replenished. You are overcome by adversity because you are faithful to the values of the National Police. You stand firm in the service to society, especially to the most vulnerable, in the case of drugs, our young people,” added Virginia Barcones.

The Government delegate in Castilla y León has remembered the families for the support it provides to the agents being one of its “pillars”. He also thanked the institutions for their cooperation and stressed the good understanding between the bodies and forces of State Security, National Police and Civil Guard.

During the ceremony of handing over the medals of the Order of Merit of Civil Protection, the delegate of the Government in Castilla y León was accompanied by subdelegate of the Government in Burgos, Pedro de la Fuente; the accidental superior chief of the Police of Castilla y León, Jesús del Amo, and the acting provincial commissioner of the Provincial Commissariat of Burgos, Benito Martínez, in addition to the decorated agents, family and friends.