The Portuguese Judicial Police and the Spanish Civil Guard arrested nine men aged between 53 and 25 as part of Operation Nazaré.
According to a source in the Judicial Police (PJ), four detainees are awaiting trial in pre-trial detention. The same source said the suspects will serve preventive detention in Spain until judicial authorities decide in which country the drug trafficking case that occurred in April in Peniche, Leiria district, will be tried.
The detainees are members of the historical criminal group “Os Piturros”, linked to drug trafficking in Galicia, from Ria Arosa, in Pontevedra, and active since 1980, according to a statement from the joint venture, which CM had access.
The police operation involved 11 searches in Spain and one at a company located in Alto do Minho in Portugal. The men are suspected of drug trafficking by sea, one of which involves cocaine seized on a flying boat in Peniche in April last year. They are accused crimes related to aggravated drug trafficking, criminal association and money laundering.
The prosecutor and the Civil Guard confiscated 40 thousand euros, three high-end cars, as well as computer and communications equipment.
According to the statement, the Galician Os Piturros clan was directly linked to the main cocaine distributors in Colombia. They used the sea route to transport large quantities of cocaine to Europe.
The investigation was carried out by the Joint Investigation Team. registered with Europol and Eurojust. It involved the Judicial Police and the Civil Guard, as well as the regional IAP of Coimbra and the National Auditorium of Madrid.
Author: morning Post This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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