Spanish police dismantle Lithuanian drug transporting network in 'Operation Beluga'

Euronews · Feb 27, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Published on 27/02/2026 - 12:52 GMT+1 Spanish police have dismantled a Lithuanian drug trafficking organisation that used lorries loaded with building materials to smuggle hashish and cocaine from the Costa del Sol to eastern Europe, seizing nearly 1,900 kilograms of drugs. The National Police arrested seven people and seized an insulated lorry, 10 vehicles, five high-end watches, 22 telephones, weapons and €10,000 in cash during the sting. Investigators first detected the network in April 2025 after observing Lithuanian citizens living in luxury homes on the Costa del Sol with no known employment and having constant meetings with drug traffickers. Agents discovered the gang had a partner in Granada who provided logistics for transporting drugs out of Spain. Hidden in brick pallets The network hid drugs amongst legal merchandise, specifically pallets of bricks, which were loaded onto heavy lorries bound for Eastern Europe. Police carried out the first intervention in late June 2025 in Alhendín, a town in Granada province. Officers observed suspects manipulating pallets to insert drugs before loading them into sea containers. When lorries began arriving at the site, police activated a device that stopped the transport and seized 1,837 kilograms of hashish. Three people were arrested. The organisation went into a period of inactivity after the June operation but resumed in late September. Investigators found that the ringleaders contacted a lorry driver in Marbella and had a vehicle under surveillance there. Police suspected the car contained a caleta, a hidden compartment, with drugs inside and would be transported on a gondola truck to Europe. When the truck departed, the National Police alerted French authorities. French agents then inspected the vehicle on French territory and found 22 kilograms of cocaine in 20 bricks hidden in the back of the car. The driver was arrested. Police then searched the homes of the main suspects and intercepted the network's leader, in whose car they found 29 bricks of cocaine with the same stamp as those seized in France. Four new suspects were arrested, three of whom were remanded in custody. The operation is part of the ENFAST network and received support from Europol and funding from the European Union's Internal Security Fund.