US Handgun-Smuggling Network Dismantled in Alicante

A criminal enterprise trafficking firearms and narcotics from the United States to Alicante has been dismantled, according to a joint operation by the Civil Guard and Spain’s Customs Surveillance Service. The investigation, which began in February, led to four arrests in July, with two more arrests made in mid-July.

The operation uncovered five suspicious packages at Madrid, Valencia, and Cologne airports, containing six pistols and one kilogram of cannabis resin. All shipments were directed to a single property in Alicante's San Blas neighborhood. The investigation started after customs officers identified two suspicious packages at Madrid's Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. One package contained three 9mm pistols, while the second package had false recipient details but the same Alicante address.

Investigators traced at least five further parcels sent from the United States under false names, all intercepted in Valencia and Cologne. In the first phase of the operation, a 26-year-old Romanian man was detained in Alicante, and another young man was arrested at the property but later released. In the second phase, a second Romanian man was arrested in Benidorm, while two other individuals linked to the shipments were apprehended in Alicante and Benidorm, respectively.

The organization is believed to have organized at least seven shipments, with two remaining undiscovered. Police seized modern, powerful, and accurate firearms, which could fetch up to four times their original price on the black market. The detainees are under investigation for weapons trafficking, illegal possession and storage of firearms, smuggling, membership of a criminal organization, and drug trafficking.

They were released on bail after appearing before a judge in Alicante. The investigation remains open, with further arrests not ruled out as officers work with US authorities to determine the arms' origins and identify their original purchasers.