'Gibraltar', a film by Julien Leclercq, with lots of familiar sights

This is the official trailer of a film that was shot in the Campo de Gibraltar in May last year. Directed by Julien Leclercq and originally called L'aviseur, it is scheduled for release on September 11. Campo readers will see a lot of familiar sights in La Línea and Algeciras, among others. Based on a novel by Marc Fiévet that is itself based on a true story, 'Gibraltar' stars such well-known French actors as Vincent Lindon, Gilles Lellouch and Ricardo Sacarcio and tells the story of a French man living in the South of Spain in the 1980s, who cooperated with French customs as an informer on drug trafficking operations in the Strait.

264 kilos of cocaine seized from container at the port

(Photo: Guardia Civil)

ALGECIRAS The Guardia Civil announced yesterday that it had seized 264 kilos of cocaine hidden in a container in transit at Algeciras, coming from Argentina. Four people were arrested when they attempted to collect the drug, all of whom are in jail. The GC statement said that they established an operation that watched the container, loaded onto a tractor truck at the cargo terminal; when the truck was stopped and inspected, they found several bags full of the packaged cocaine and arrested three men. Involved, too, was a third man who had access to the container terminal with a van belonging to his employer; he was also arrested. 

Drug storage unit 'security'

Broomstick, bottom left

CÁDIZ Last month we reported on a robbery that had occurred at the drug storage facilities in Cádiz, where some 300 kilos of cocaine and 100 of hashish were 'lifted'. From the supposedly secure official storage place that keeps about half of all drug hauls in the country.This photograph was sent out by the Sindicato Unificado de Policía (SUP, the police union). Since the robbery, the sliding window through which the burglars may have escaped has been fastened with a broomstick. Yes, a broomstick. The union wants to point to the negligence and abandon some of the Policía Nacional's facilities are suffering.>>>

Jimena property involved in money laundering scam

Finca La Bordalla

JIMENA The subject burst on the media scene towards the end of last month (since when we have been trying to obtain further information without success). The Guardia Civil had raided the offices of a property investment and management company, Inversiones Patrimoniales P&P, in Algeciras in a spectacular operation against money laundering. The GC entered the offices via a window and removed several computers and documentation that is still being studied. However, it appears that a property in Jimena, the controversial, allegedly illegal Finca La Bordalla (photo) was involved in the money laundering operation. Local witnesses saw numerous GC vehicles heading up to the property about a week ago, where a thorough search was carried out, apparently without result. It is assumed thatYOU WILL BE UNABLE

300 kilos of cocaine stolen from official storage in Cádiz

Police station just a few metres away

"They had it easy," says police union

CÁDIZ First it was Sevilla, then Málaga, and now it's the turn of Cádiz, where more than half of the illegal substances confiscated in Spain is stored. The official storage facility, supposedly highly secure, has now had 300 kilos of the stuff -mostly cocaine- removed with such apparent ease that it is widely believed to be an inside job. Sources other than the official one, headed by the Government Delegate in Andalucía -supposedly guardian of the drugs- say that the amount stolen is significantly above that. There is talk of anotherSOON YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO

New law proposes only 80 cigarettes to be allowed out of Gibraltar

Smuggling has a long history

At present, the total allowed per month is 200, if you live within 15k of the border - officially

SPAIN The area's tobacconists have been complaining for at least two years now, that their sales are down considerably, and not because people are buying less but because tobacco smuggling from Gibraltar has reached unprecedented proportions. Under new budget measures, Madrid is proposing to clamp down on this practice by slashing by over half the number of cigarettes allowed across the frontier. A new law that came into effect in June says thatSOON YOU WILL BE UNABLE

Drug house raided, one arrest

JIMENA / San Martín del Tesorillo In a joint operation, Guardia Civil and Local Police broke up a drug sales outfit at a home in Tesorillo. They became aware of the situation when they noticed a lot of traffic in the area around the house. They kept watch and came to the conclusion that there was an illicit business going on, confirmed by neighbours who had become alarmed. The raid came up with 4.5 kilos of marijuana, 2 grams of hashish, marijuana seeds, plastic freezer bags and a digital scales. They arrested a man and charged him with a 'crime against public health' (delito contra la salud pública as it's called in legalese). He is now 'at the disposal of the courts'.

Marijuana by the river

Illustration only

JIMENA Agents of the Guardia Civil recently found some 51 kilos of cannabis plants by the river at San Pablo de Buceite, part of the municipality of Jimena. The plants were hidden among bramble thickets, and the GC came across them on an operation against illegal hunting in the area, which is known as a place used for hiding. They saw a pathway through the brambles leading to a small plot where the marijuana was harvested, cut and laying on the ground ready for processing. Nearby were several barrels containing water, which irrigated the plantation via a rudimentary drip system. The plants were confiscated and the matter was put in the hands of the courts at San Roque. The local GC area's most recent haul before this was at Sotogrande, where they confiscated 180 kilos.

British couple arrested for growing marihuana in their patio

(Photo: europasur.es)

LA LÍNEA / Alcaidesa (Agencies) Units of the National Police arrested a British couple last week when they discovered that J.M.L.V., male and 25, and L.M.F.M., female and 24, were growing commercial quantities of cannabis sativa plants in the courtyard of their home at Alcaidesa, with the intention of preparing and selling it. The home contained a room prepared specifically for drying the plants, with halogen lamps, dryers and other equipment. The police became aware of these activities at the end of June and spent several weeks in watching the home and the area, following vehicles and people entering and leaving the area, and other such activities 'despite the difficulties inherent in this kind of operation, with perpetrators setting ever improved security equipment', according to a statement. Once the plants were cut down, they weighed almost 25 kilos, with a street value calculated at €104,600.

Cocaine ship boarded on the high seas

Unloading at Cádiz

31 people arrested 50 miles out from Cádiz

CÁDIZ A ship believed to be carrying a large cargo of cocaine was boarded on Monday by units of the National Police's Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO), and is now moored at Cádiz, under heavy guard. Thirty-one people were arrested in the operation, most of whom allegedly belong to one of Spain's largest cartels. The ship, the SV Nikolay, belongs to a firm in the Bulgarian port of Burgas, Bulgaria's BTA news agency reports. She was headed for the coast of Galicia, and would presumably have acted there as a 'mother ship' while the cocaine was unloaded in smaller vessels, and eventually headed for Madrid. The arrested included Spaniards, Colombians and Bulgars. The ship was found to be carrying over three tonnes of cocaine, and the arrested appeared in court yesterday morning.

In a single week, 56% of drug tests on drivers were positive

90 per cent were for cannabis or cocaine

SPAIN (Agencies) The Guardia Civil Traffic Division carried out a nationwide campaign against drug driving during the week of July 9 to 15.  Of the 232,000 roadside controls carried out in one week, 2,400 were positive, representing about 1%. In addition, 101 tests were carried out on drivers "showing signs of driving under the influence of drugs," according to the Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz. The objective, said the Minister, was to get anyone driving under the influence of drugs "off the road." He went on to praise the "clinical eye" of the agents that detected such drivers without these having committed any infraction and but had passed a breathalyser. Fernández Díaz added that so far this year, some 2,259 drug driving tests have been carried out and the number will continue to increase as testing spreads throughout the country, particularly over the summer, concentrating on coastal roads during the season.

Guardia Civil investigate possible GHB-related rape

TARIFA A 19 year old woman from Barcelona was taken to the local health centre on Sunday morning. At six in the morning the Local Police found her wandering near the beach in a state of great anxiety and completely disoriented. Having started the evening out in the company of several friends, she thought she had at some point been raped, according to press release, which began an investigation by the Guardia Civil and led her to be taken to the Punta de Europa Hospital in Algeciras for an exploration. The woman was unable to describe any attacker or remember much about the incident, although as time went by she could recall that she had spent most of the night with a young man. All her symptoms are related to what is sometimes described as 'the rapist's drug', GHB, or Gamma Hydroxybutyric acid, and also known as scoop and 'liquid Ecstasy' - éxtasis líquido' in Spain. Like alcohol and potent>>>

Gibraltar has a serious drugs issue on its hands, says Narcotics Anonymous

GIBRALTAR (Panorama) Narcotics Anonymous Gibraltar (NA) has been established on the Rock for about 17 years. It is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem in their lives. Members are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean of these substances. The only requirement for membership is to admit to having a problem and a desire to stop using. NA held a press conference last Friday which was more in the way of an awareness presentation of what the group has to offer. Present at the conference were two government ministers, Ms Sacramento and Mr. Linares, among many members of the public who shared an interest in the subject. The conference table was headed by three members of the group, all recovering addicts, who through help from NA and, in some personal cases, Bruce’s Farm (Gibraltar's recovery centre), have got their lives back and living normally with their families.>>>

You don't expect a drug drop while relaxing at the beach ...

Getares beach, Sunday
(Photo: europasur.es)

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) You're relaxing, grabbing some rays and all of a sudden, you're in the middle of a drug drop . That's what people at Getares beach went through on Sunday morning. A heavy duty launch roared onto the sand and men were seen running off hauling fardos (literally, bales but associated largely with the drug trade) across the sand. The Guardia Civil turned up by the time the men had disappeared, but the launch (photo) was left behind and is now seized as evidence of the alleged drop. Local beaches are well known as drug drops, but that's usually in the small hours.

The 'narco-babies' phenomenon

Ready to cross, Ceuta-Algeciras

ALGECIRAS The crisis has undoubtedly brought about a certain amount of ingenuity, just to survive; or 'necessity is the mother of invention'.  Also true, however, is that those who in better times enjoyed a good life without doing much work for it, are now more than ever inclined towards easy money. Put the two together and you get people scurrying over to the first ferry to Morocco, buying the merchandise and coming back across. The number of these people is well on the increase, of which the various security forces are well aware. Specially those at the ports of Ceuta and Algeciras. The pressure is on, and so is the imagination of the 'importers'. The 'mules' (called camellos, or camels in Spanish) continue to risk their lives suffing their innards to cross the straits in the hope of not being detected. Some carry their load in their stomachs, others in other parts, and now it's their babies that carry the load.>>>

'There were drugs all over the place'

(Photo: Guardia Civil)

SOTOGRANDE The headline words were said in court yesterday at the trial of four people accused of trying to smuggle 2,850 kilos of hashish through Sotogrande aboard a yacht. The incident happened in August 2010; the yacht was searched and, to continue the Guardia Civil's testimony in court, "Every cabin, every corner, every cupboard was crammed with the drug. We had to climb over the bales to get inside." Suspicion had been raised because the boat was sailing very slowly and the bow was lower in the water than the stern. Four men - a Spaniard, a Frenchman, a Briton and a Moroccan- are facing charges at the Audiencia Provincial in Algeciras. 

Gibraltarian arrested on drug charges in Marbella

MARBELLA (GibChronicle) A 75-year Gibraltarian answering to the initials M.P. was arrested in Marbella on March 22 in connection with a Portuguese investigation into drug trafficking, according to reports in the Spanish media. The arrest was carried out by officers of the Policia Nacional Drugs and Organised Crime Unit acting on a European arrest warrant issued by Portuguese authorities. It is not clear whether he remains under arrest in Spain or whether he has been transferred to Portugal, or indeed released.

Galicia drug ring arrests in Jimena and Algeciras

JIMENA The Guardia Civil Recently arrested two local men, one from Jimena and another from Algeciras, for their involvement in a notorious cocaine trafficking ring based in Galicia. The arrests were part of an operation that includes arrests in Pontevedra, Galicia.A total of 7.2 kilos of pure cocaine were found in the operation, allegedly ready for distribution to various parts of the country. The man who was supposedly to receive the drug for distribution was F.G.F.C., 35, of Jimena, while his collaborator in Algeciras was C.J.P.P., 26. Operación Potro, as it is called, was concluded on Wednesday after two years of close investigation, including following vehicles from Galicia to Cádiz, even though the gang made very careful security plans. More arrests were made and homes and vehicles searched after a car belonging to the gang was stopped in the province of Cádiz (photo).

Head of layoff-fund scam and driver “spent 25,000 euros a month on drugs,” court hears

(Photo: noticias.terra.es)

Trujillo was sent to prison without bail

SEVILLA (El País / Javier Martín Arroyo) The former chauffeur of an ex-official in the Andalusian administration at the head of an alleged multimillion-euro layoff scam involving public funds said on Tuesday that he and his boss spent tens of thousands of euros of the region’s money on cocaine every month. Juan Francisco Trujillo, the then-driver of regional employment office chief Javier Guerrero, told Judge Mercedes Ayala that he and his boss spent around 25,000 euros a month on cocaine that they shared in “marathon sessions.” They consumed up to five grams a day. Trujillo received 1.3 million euros from a 650-million slush fund managed by Guerrero that was allegedly used to pay generous but unmerited early retirement packages to friends, family members and political allies.>>>

Amphetamines and derivatives closely linked to Parkinson's

They have all kinds of names in Spain, depending on the location, the manner and the urban tribes that use them: anfetas, pirulas, pastis, cristal, speed ... but whatever they're called here or anywhere, amphetamines, methamphetamine and other related substances are used the world over as recreational drugs, despite the proven health damage they cause. One of the most serious effects, according to a study carried out in California, is the way in which they multiply the risk of Parkinson's Disease in their users. Parkinson's is a degenerative disease in which are involved the very same kind of neurons that are attacked by these drugs. The research's authors say that, in any case, the results they have obtained relate only to the illegal use of the substances and not to those cases that are medically prescribed.>>>