Cops blow up huge drug shipment of 1,500kg of cocaine bound for Britain – World News

Argentine authorities made one of their biggest drug arrests ever after a mafia gang was caught trying to ship more than 1,500kg of cocaine to Europe

A mafia gang planning to bring over 1,500 kilos of cocaine that could end up on the streets of Britain have been captured while being sailed out of Argentina in one of the country’s biggest drug arrests.

Police raided 11 locations in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, and seized three small yachts used to take drugs to a ship in international waters, where they would then be taken to Europe.

Argentina is now a key route for drug trafficking to Europe, with cocaine being shipped down the massive Parana River from where it is manufactured in countries like Bolivia and Colombia.

Mafia gangs have greatly increased street violence, particularly in Rosario on the Parana River, now known as the country’s drug capital.

Police said the seizure of 1,549 kilos of cocaine was the culmination of a four-year investigation and led to six arrests.

Eleven vehicles and six motorcycles were also seized as part of the operation, along with dollars, euros and bitcoin hardware.

Police also confiscated phones, satellites and tracking devices used in the sophisticated operation.

The Ministry of Security stated: “Four years of investigations have led to the uncovering of the gang’s motive for sailing drugs into international waters.

“Then, in the open sea, the drugs were loaded onto a ship that would be sailing to Europe, and the same tactics were then used in reverse.

“Federal forces found some of the drugs stored at a site on the Parana River in Escobar. Other large quantities of drugs were found in a house in Canning (Buenos Aires).”

Police got their lead on the drug operation from a disgraced financier Diego Guastini, who was shot dead by a moped driver in October 2019.

He is believed to have been killed after agreeing to cooperate with authorities and revealing some of his contacts, which had already led to the Loza family being arrested for their involvement in drug trafficking to Spain.

However, authorities are not sure if Guastini was collaborating with the mafia gang or just giving them their names, they reported Infobae.com.

Investigators believe Argentinian Gustavo Diego Marano, 48, who was jailed in his home country and is now in a Spanish prison on drug trafficking charges, is the main man behind the operation, sources say.

The enormous amount of money that the drug gang could make from bringing the drugs to Europe is illustrated by the fact that a kilo of cocaine would be worth £1,500 in Bolivia, compared to around £30,000 in Europe.