The Guardia Civil has dismantled, as part of the operation "rubber duck", a criminal network dedicated to the distribution of cocaine that operated in several localities in Galicia and León, whose main people in charge have already been sent to prison.
In the operation, six people were detained, one of them in Ponferrada (León), and the two top people in charge of the plot have entered into preventive custody. All of them are charged with alleged crimes of drug trafficking, illicit possession of weapons, falsification of a public document and against road safety, as sources from the Ministry of the Interior have reported.
The investigations began in the summer of last year, prompted by the growing local residents’ alarm due to the alleged distribution of narcotic substances in Sarria (Lugo) and in nearby localities. The first inquiries made it possible to detect frequent trips by several people from Madrid to Ponferrada (León), Sarria and Lugo, allegedly with the aim of supplying drugs to local sellers.
As the investigation progressed, it was confirmed that the organization obtained supplies mainly through contacts located in Madrid and that its members were taking extreme security measures to try to avoid police action.
First arrests and seizures
In September of last year, the first arrests were carried out in Madrid, where two neighbors from Lugo, aged 68 and 51, were arrested and a kilogram of cocaine was seized.
The officers found that the network used vehicles modified with hidden compartments, known as "caletas", which are very difficult to detect in ordinary checkpoints. These spaces were used both to move the drugs and to hide firearms.
At the end of 2025, in a public parking lot in Ponferrada, the arrest of two other members of the organization took place: a resident of the city, aged 36, and another resident in Madrid, aged 34. In this operation, a short firearm of 9 millimeters, without numbering and ready for use, was seized, as well as 8,300 euros in cash.
The detainee coming from Madrid is also charged with alleged crimes of falsification of a public document and against road safety, for carrying a forged driving permit in the name of another person, with which he allegedly intended to cover up that he did not have authorization to drive in force.
Final phase in Sarria and closure of the network
The last phase of the operation was carried out in Sarria, where two more residents of the town, aged 44 and 33, were detained, considered the alleged final distributors of the drug in the area and in nearby municipalities.
With these interventions, the Guardia Civil considers one of the most active cocaine distribution networks in the province of Lugo to have been dismantled.
The actions taken have been forwarded to the Tribunal Plaza one, section of Instrucción of Lugo.