Ten people arrested in Catalonia and the south of France, including the ‘cabecillas’, for their participation in four drug shipments in the last eight months
The drug left warehouses in Castellón hidden in trucks and vans with double funds and with the escort of ‘shuttle cars’ to alert of possible controls
The dismantled organization had its base of operations in Spain and consisted of individuals of Romanian and Slovak nationality
Agents of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax and Customs Agency of France, in the framework of a joint operation deployed in the last eight months, have intervened 2,480 kilos of hashish to a network dedicated to the transport of drugs by road from Spain to France and the rest of Europe, and have proceeded to the arrest of ten people responsible for carrying out shipments from warehouses in the province of Castellón. The organization hid the drug in trucks and vans with double funds that were escorted by ‘shuttle cars’ to warn of possible controls.
The operation, called ‘Sivarite’, begins in October 2024. Within the framework of the intensification of the joint activity of Customs Surveillance and French Customs against drug trafficking between Spain, France and the rest of Europe, the exchange of information between the DNRED of the Customs of France in Perpignan and Customs Surveillance of the AEAT in Catalonia allows to detect the activities of a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking based in Spain.
This organization, made up of citizens of Romanian and Slovak nationality, was specialized in the road transport of large quantities of narcotic products, especially hashish, and organized convoys between Spain and several European countries. The narcotic substance was hidden among legal goods in trucks, or also in vans with double funds, vehicles that escorted ‘shuttle cars’ whose function was to warn of possible controls.
The information obtained by the investigators led to the first intervention on November 7, 2024, when the French Customs Service intercepted a shipment of the investigated in the resting area of Mougins, near the city of Cannes. The inspection of the trailer allowed the discovery of 1,385 kilos of cannabis resin and the two drivers in the truck, of Romanian nationality, were arrested.
Warehouse in Castellón and second intervention
The investigations also made it possible to locate the place where the narcotic substance was loaded in Spain on a farm in Vinaròs (Castellón). There, the organization kept the hashish and loaded it into trucks or vans for transportation. The estate was guarded by a Slovak citizen residing on it and was subsequently detained by investigators.
On May 2, 2025, the researchers detected a new shipment to France and carried out a follow-up that ended with a check in Figueres (Girona) to a Romanian-registered van carrying 240 kilos of hashish, 26.7 kilos of marijuana buds and 2.2 kilos of cocaine. The two occupiers, of Romanian nationality, were also arrested.
Persecution in Spain and France
A month later, on June 3, another exit from the Vinaròs estate is detected, a new convoy made up of two vans with French registration. The Customs Surveillance investigators locate the vans near the border with France so they start a persecution in which they have to enter French territory, so they request collaboration from the DNRED of Perpignan. The operation ends with the arrest of a person of Romanian nationality and the seizure of 218 kilos of hashish that he was carrying in a van hidden in containers of olive oil.
During the morning of July 6, researchers discover a new shipment from the area of Castellón, direction France. It was found that this time the organization was using a truck and another ‘pilot car’. The truck was stopped by Customs Surveillance officials at a checkpoint in Llers (Girona), and as a result its driver, of Bulgarian nationality, was stopped and 637 kilos of hashish were seized that were hidden between the cargo. In this case it was necessary to unload the entire truck in order to find the drug.
Arrested the ‘ringleaders’ of the organization
Finally, on July 23, the operation ended with the arrest of four people considered the heads of the organization: three Romanian citizens and the Slovak individual who guarded the Vinaròs estate. In the register of the farm, 13 bags of transparent plastic with loose white pills without any distinctive, with a weight of approximately 13.2 kilos, whose components are being analyzed, were seized. A plastic bag with 6,260 tablets of clonazepam, a drug commonly used to enhance the effects of other substances, was also used.
The investigation, which is still open and in which there could be more arrests, has arrested a total of ten people, five of whom have been imprisoned, and a total of 2,480 kilos of hashish, 26.7 kilos of marijuana buds, 2.2 kilos of cocaine and 6,260 tablets of clonazepam have been intervened. The detainees are charged with alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, smuggling and against public health.
The action was conducted by Examining Court No. 5 of Vinaròs (Castellón) and involved the Customs Surveillance Units of Catalonia and Valencia, as well as the Reaction and Intervention Groups (GRI) of the Tax Agency and the DNRED Perpignan of French Customs.
