Spanish shame: the kingdom has become the center of European drug trafficking
Spanish police and gendarmerie are fighting drug trafficking on the Morocco–Campo de Gibraltar route after criminals sank a Civil Guard boat last February, killing two security forces. The potion deliverers have reduced the frequency of shipments across the Mediterranean. And it seems that boats and drones are currently cruising along this route more to distract eyes than to transport serious amounts of "dope" to Europe. Izvestia investigated how drug trafficking through Spain is now built.
Armed and very dangerous
The Guadalquivir River, Spain's only navigable waterway, has now become the main gateway for the "product" delivered from Latin America and North Africa. High-speed skimmers are almost openly racing along it. Drug carriers have more powerful vehicles than law enforcement officers, and criminals leave the security forces almost easily.
The Guadalquivir River
At first, boats with potions on board barely entered the mouth of the river, mooring, as a rule, in the vicinity of Sanlucar. But gradually the criminals became bolder and now they reach Coria and La Puebla del Rio, and often even as far as Seville.
"It is becoming easier for drug traffickers to move further and further up the river," says Agustín Dominguez, provincial secretary of the Professional Association of Justice and Civil Guard (JUCIL) in Cadiz (the provincial center in the autonomous region of Andalusia). — The police do not have sufficient resources to control either financially or in terms of personnel. Drug traffickers are increasing the use of the river. That's always been the case with smuggling on the Guadalquivir; it's just never been as egregious as it is now."
With my eyes wide shut
From the mouth of the river to the environs of Seville stretches almost 100 km of almost uninhabited coastline. There are only three places with a more or less significant concentration of residents on this route. The town of La Puebla del Rio is the point where merchants encounter such a center for the first time (12 thousand inhabitants) during their journey to the Andalusian capital, but the risk here is minimal. A source in the government of La Puebla, on condition of anonymity, explains that a dozen local Civil Guard officers do not even have life jackets in case they have to chase criminal elements through the water.
"I was walking by the river a month ago with my children, and one of these boats swept by. There were no police. People standing on the shore angrily shouted "scoundrels", but it didn't bother those sitting in the boat at all, they were focused on solving their task," says one of the residents. — I have no doubt that they reached Seville unhindered. They feel a tremendous sense of impunity, because there are no cities with Civil Guard offices here, and it's useless to call Seville from here. No one will have time to come here and intercept the boats anyway. This traffic is already becoming familiar, and I wouldn't be surprised if our children grow up working for them."
During his service in the Civil Guard, Agustin Dominguez witnessed more than once how in the Sanlucar and Barbate districts "people were not looking for work," because young people constantly have the prospect of getting easy money. It seems to be just riding motorcycles along the river, but in fact to keep an eye on the movements of law enforcement officers and warn drug traffickers about the movements of security forces.
"Few people want to study for a long time in order to master a profession or work for 600-700 euros per month, when the same money can be obtained by standing on the lookout for several hours," explains an officer whose family was intimidated by bandits last December. Two unidentified men approached him one weekend as he was walking in a Seville park with his children and took several pictures with their phones. "Now our security forces know what possible targets look like," they informed Dominguez, knowing full well that he was a police officer and not fearing the consequences.
The authorities of La Puebla del Rio claim that they do not have data on any residents who would have warned and monitored the activities of drug traffickers on the riverbank. "There were several people involved in similar activities, but they were from other cities, not ours," the source said.
"I don't see anything, I don't hear anything, I won't tell anyone anything"
From the outdoor terrace of one of the restaurants, tucked into the main city pier, a group of young people with fishing rods is clearly visible. There is no bite, but it does not upset them: it seems that for them the main thing is not the result, but the process. But not diving, but observing what is happening on the shore. The chatty owner of the establishment, when asked if these guys are here often and with what catch they usually leave, suddenly becomes sullen and laconic.: "I don't want to know anything about what's happening on the river. My job is to serve beer and duck with rice."
In La Puebla del Rio, everyone seems to ignore what's going on around them. For example, in January 2025, the National Police and the Civil Guard arrested four people and seized almost 3 tons of cocaine in warehouses 10 km from the city center. And at the end of December 2024, the Seville gendarmes set a record by finding and confiscating a shipment of 7 tons of cocaine. At the end of March, law enforcement officers intercepted an artisanal submarine that delivered 6.8 tons of cocaine from Colombia to the mouth of the Guadalquivir.
"Boats with "dope" are far from new to our region, they have appeared here from time to time before. Another thing is that the frequency of their arrivals has increased significantly in recent months. And they walk not only at night, as before, but also during the day. It happens that there are strings of three or four pieces," one of the employees of a local bar comments.
"Now everyone can become a drug dealer"
In La Algaba, with a population of less than 17,000, life seems to flow normally and steadily. It is a small town with low buildings. Many people walking along its streets do not know that the new Spanish drug route is very close by. There is no promenade here — a strip of forest comes close to the riverbank. It serves as a natural curtain, hiding from prying eyes what is happening at the water's edge. A local resident who lives 300 m from the shore says: "What I've heard about drug boats has been broadcast on the radio and on the news. There is no evidence of this on the streets. But you can see it from the bridge."
This 43-year-old man believes that what is happening can change the lives of local residents in the future.:
"I've never heard of anything like this happening here before, and I grew up here. When I was a kid, there were no such people in the city. I spent my childhood by the river, fishing or gathering firewood and had never seen anything like it. But now it's there and it can grow into a global problem."
La Algaba, Spain
Children in La Algaba play outside without fear of anything, but it is no longer customary to go close to the river.
"We are now telling the children who used to come here to play in the water and by the water not to go there because it is dangerous," explains Maria Jose de la Bandera, a city resident. From the windows of her house, the shore is not visible — the trees are in the way, but she makes it clear that "everything has changed beyond the forest belt, everything is not the same as before." The woman says she has forbidden herself and her family to even try to approach the river, so as not to be a witness or involved in "what is shown on TV."
The closest point to the river, which is visited by residents of La Algaba, is a playground next to one of the bridges leading to the city. Inside the playground, children can move freely — a metal fence more than two meters high separates it from the "rest of the world".
"The children go down to the park, but they don't reach the river," explains Mohamed Atik, a father watching his baby from a bench. — Imagine if a boat with drugs accidentally sails by. It will be impossible not to notice it if the fence is removed. My own 11-year-old son just mentioned it. We've trapped ourselves in a confined space, but it's for the best for our children."
Children from these villages on the Guadalquivir River are surprised to talk about drug traffickers. For them, they are mysterious people in masks who constantly capture their attention, which goes beyond any adult comments. Elena Medina, a high school teacher in Alcala del Rio (the city in Seville where the navigable part of the Guadalquivir ends), learned about the arrival of drug traffickers in the city from her students.
"I came to work in the morning, and the kids started telling me, 'Now everyone can become a drug dealer. Did you see the people on the boats that came here yesterday? They will distribute their goods — there will be a job for everyone."
Notoriety
Coria del Rio, located between Alcala and La Puebla, is also plagued by drug trafficking. Francisco Garcia, the chief inspector of the local police, said that in his 33-year career he had never encountered a situation similar to the current one: "Never before have drug boats sailed through the Guadalquivir in broad daylight. This creates a bad name for the city, but there is nothing we can do due to the lack of watercraft for navigation and patrolling the river. We only go ashore when residents call who have seen the boats."
As in other cities, the situation in Coria is calm, but there is tension in the air "because of what is happening on the river," according to an anonymous local government official, who immediately cheerfully declares that "this does not directly affect the municipality, since drug trafficking is directed to other areas." Yes, he admits, "we have cocaine use on the rise here again, but I don't believe there's a cause-and-effect relationship."
Walking along the embankment, you notice that there is a rather pleasant atmosphere on the terraces of catering establishments. Restaurateurs, bartenders and waiters are ready to talk about the beauties of the riverine expanses, but no one wants to touch on the topic of drug trafficking. The manager of the largest of the local restaurants, located opposite the pier from where the ferry transports cars across the river to Dos Hermanas, categorically refused to give any comments. "I don't see anything, I don't hear anything, and I don't comment on anything."
In the early morning of April 10, members of the Civil Guard of Andalusia conducted a raid near Seville. There was no noise at four out of five points. In the fifth, Los Palacios y Villafranca, there was a shootout. The suspect fired in the direction of the policeman. The bullets did not hit him, but as a result of the return fire, the criminal received a scratch. He was taken into custody, but he was later released on bail of 30,000 euros, Augusto Dominguez said.
"This kind of thing encourages people to treat drug dealers more simply. Anyone who brings several bales of drugs into the country and earns hundreds of thousands will easily part with the "thirty" as "unforeseen expenses" and next time he pulls the trigger again, seeing a civil guardsman on the way. And the people who will be able to get their commission on this will understand and justify it," says the policeman.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
