A joint operation by the Guardia Civil and the Customs Surveillance Service has dismantled an organised crime group in Alicante that imported illegal handguns and drugs into Spain using postal packages from the United States. Four young people were arrested in Alicante and Benidorm in July for illegal firearms trafficking, one of whom had already been arrested in March in Alicante alongside another youth during the initial phase of the investigation.
The investigation, involving information units from the Guardia Civil commands in Alicante, Madrid, and Murcia alongside Customs Surveillance officials, began last February. It led to the seizure of six handguns sent to Alicante at airports in Madrid, Valencia, and Cologne. Enquiries also uncovered the involvement of a man arrested in El Algar, in the Region of Murcia, who was listed as the recipient of two packages containing four handguns detected at Cologne Airport in Germany, sent by the same US sender who dispatched pistols to Alicante.
The suspects were granted provisional release after appearing before a judge in Alicante last July. They face allegations of arms trafficking, possession and storage, as well as smuggling, criminal organisation and drug trafficking. In addition to handguns, investigators suspect they traded in narcotics after seizing one kilogram of cannabis at Valencia Airport and intercepting conversations regarding illegal activities.
The network sent at least seven packages from the United States using fictitious sender identities, though the recipient was real in more than half of the dispatches. All shipments, including those with fictitious recipient names, were sent to the same address: a property in the San Blas neighbourhood of Alicante.
Initial detections occurred at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, where fiscal and border analysis agents from the Guardia Civil and Customs Surveillance officers intercepted two suspicious packages. One was addressed to a 26-year-old Romanian resident of Alicante, and the other to a fake identity at the same address. One package held a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol and a 9 mm Springfield pistol, while the second contained a 9 mm Shadow Systems pistol.
Enquiries with US authorities revealed at least five additional packages sent from the US to the same Alicante address under various names, with US officials confirming the senders’ identities were fictitious. Two packages were intercepted at Manises Airport in Valencia, containing a Smith & Wesson pistol, a Kahr pistol, and one kilogram of hashish. German authorities intercepted another package at Cologne Airport containing a Sig Sauer pistol. Two other packages were not initially located.
Investigators obtained judicial authorisation in Madrid for a controlled delivery of the first two packages that were found at Barajas. After replacing the handguns with other objects, officers launched an operation in early March, arresting the 26-year-old Romanian man in Alicante along with another youth present at the property, who was later released. The Region of Murcia resident, listed as the recipient for two packages holding two pistols each, was also arrested at that time.
The investigation continued into mid-July, leading to three arrests in Alicante and one in Benidorm. The youth previously arrested in Alicante in March was re-arrested in Benidorm. House searches yielded no further firearms, though officers seized materials for analysis.
Investigators believe each suspect had a distinct role: one provided directives to the package recipient, who supplied contact details and delivery addresses; another managed phone lines used for shipping contacts; and the fourth appeared in images displaying handguns. Officers noted the seized modern firearms possess accuracy and capacity exceeding standard security forces’ equipment, making them ideal for sale to drug traffickers. On the black market, such weapons can fetch up to four times their original value. Enquiries into the origin of the weapons in the US remain open, and further arrests have not been ruled out.
Other Articles
Torrevieja PSOE offers to cooperate on N-332 widening project
