Historic “los pintaos” clan brought down

The Guardia Civil has brought down the historic “los pintaos” clan that was dedicated to bringing large amounts of hashish through the west of Almeria.

The Guardia Civil has brought down the historic “los pintaos” clan that was dedicated to bringing large amounts of hashish through the west of Almeria. 20 people have been arrested for being members of a criminal organisation, crimes against public health and crimes against road safety.

12 vehicles, 6 high-speed boats and a recreational one, 6,000 litres of gasoline, a handgun and 5,997 kilos of hashish have also been seized.

The operation began after learning that members of the well-known clan “los pintaos” would be bringing hashish in fast and recreational boats to the west of Almeria.

The first intervention took place at the end of December last year, when OCON-SUR officers, who were on the coast facing the possibility of carrying out a drug cache, observed how a boat was being towed by a truck. Next to the boat was a group of people and another group that carried out security tasks.

At that time and before a high-speed boat was going to be launched the officers intervened. Those members at the foot of the boat fled, even leaving the tractor running that overturned on the beach, hindering the officers.

The following intervention was carried out last March during the surveillance of a ship that was presumably being used by the organisation. The Guardia Civil detected the suspicious attitude of two drivers of two vans entering the interior and found 470 kilos of hashish in one of the vans. The two people were arrested.

In April, another seizure was made between the beaches of Almerimar and El Ejido while the bundles were unloaded into a van. In the presence of the police, the people who were unloading the drugs fled and the boat headed out to sea. The officers followed the van that fled the scene at high speed.

The driver of the van carried out dangerous manoeuvres, with officers having to throw themselves to the ground so as not to be run over on up to two occasions. Inside the vehicle, 47 burlap bales were found. At the stash site, the officers find three more bundles. Five people were arrested and 1,500 kilos of hashish were seized.

Also in April, a member of the organisation was arrested for transporting 720 kilos of hashish in a van.

And in that same month, 2,467 kilos of hashish were seized in Castellon and two people were arrested.

Finally, at the end of June, two more members of the organisation were detained in the port of Almerimar whilst loading bales of hashish from a recreational boat to a passenger car. In this operation, 28 bales were seized, weighing 840 kilos.

A search was also carried out in a warehouse located in the town of Adra and two more members of the organisation were arrested.

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