The Guardia Civil arrested 13 people in Isla Cristina and Lepe accused of drug trafficking and membership of a criminal organisation tied to cannabis associations that acted as drug sales points.[1][2][3] The investigation, known as Operation Dehesa, began after anonymous complaints about a constant flow of people visiting these premises to buy drugs.[4] Those arrested, together with the case files, the seized substances and the other seized material, were placed at the disposal of the court handling the case.[1]

After judicial authorisation, officers carried out eight searches, four in the cannabis premises and four in homes used to store and prepare the substances for distribution.[1][2][3] The searches yielded 10.6 kg of hashish and 6 kg of marijuana.[1][2][3] Officers also seized almost 20,000 euros in cash, tools for handling and weighing drugs, four vehicles including electric scooters, and mobile-phone and computer equipment.[1] The operation dismantled a total of four drug sales points.[1]

Police found that the monitored premises presented a legal appearance linked to cannabis consumption but were actually used to distribute and sell drugs.[1] One association stood near a secondary school whose pupils, including minors, went there during break to buy or consume substances, while another was located at a children’s playground regularly frequented by young people.[1] Beyond selling on the premises, the groups delivered substances to a pre-arranged location or to buyers’ homes, a practice officers called telecoca.[1] The operation was coordinated by the Ayamonte Guardia Civil judicial-police team with participation from USECIC, canine guides, citizen-security patrols and the local police of the affected towns.[4]