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ISSUE NO. 1745
13 - 19 December 2018
Newspaper in Spain 2017 & 2018
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Lost in the high seas By Sally Underwood A COURT has jailed 11 drug dealers who lost millions of euros worth of cocaine at sea in the Balearics, with 28 kilos eventually being washed up in Alcudia. The gang members, who have each been sentenced to between two and six years in prison, lost 139 kilos of the drug when a GPS locator failed, leaving €16 million of cocaine packages floating in the sea between the Balearic Islands and Valencia. The defendants admitted their crimes during a trial in exchange for a sentencing deal with prosecutors who
lessened their requests for jail time. The incident took place after five of the convicted, three Colombians and two Spanish, ordered the shipment, intending to sell it in Valencia at the end of February 2016. The group accepted they intended to throw packages of cocaine into the sea using GPS locators to later find the parcels and pick them up. After throwing the narcotics overboard, the GPS system failed, however, leaving the drug traffickers unable to find their supply. The packets eventually drifted into shore, where they were confiscated and a
police investigation began. The first package, weighing 52 kilos, was found on March 15 in Es Migjorn in Formentera, while another 28 kilos washed up in La Victoria in Alcudia on April 3. Finally, on May 16, 27 kilos of cocaine arrived at Cala Barril in Menorca. The last 32 kilos of drugs remain missing. As well as the five people convicted of ordering and organising the shipment, a further six were sentenced for their part in a network planning to distribute the cocaine in Valencia and Menorca, where they hoped to transport the drugs hidden on vehicles placed on boats.
Cop robbers jailed FOUR young men have been sentenced to a year in prison for beating up and robbing a police officer in Palma. During a trial, the men admitted to assaulting an off-duty policeman and stealing his wallet in an incident on the Paseo Maritimo on November 1, 2015. In addition to jail time, the group were also handed a fine of €270 and ordered to pay €20,000 in compensation to their victim. The incident took place after a discotheque where the po-
lice officer and the four men had an altercation. After the policeman left, the group began following him, catching up with him in Porto Pi where they admitted to kicking and punching him. The gang also took their victim’s wallet and phone, valued at almost €600. The police officer, who tried to identify himself to his attackers, suffered serious injuries and remained in hospital for three days. The victim took almost four months to recover from the assault.
WASHED UP: Twenty-eight kilos of ‘lost’ cocaine was recovered by police at La Victoria bay in Alcudia.