Ibiza drugs swoop net 20 Brits
Friday, 03 September 2010 09:00
THE holiday island of Ibiza saw a major operation against drug traffickers by Spanish Police resulting in the arrests of 20 Brits and five others. Cocaine, ecstasy and numerous other drugs were seized in a series of closely coordinated raids at various properties in and around the resort town of San Antonio. A spokesman for the Civil Guard said that 25 people had been taken into custody and they would be appearing before a judge in Ibiza Town. The operation was carried out jointly between Spanish authorities and the British Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and it is believed that undercover officers had the detainees under surveillance for several weeks. The whole operation was aimed at British gangs who overrun the island every summer trafficking drugs to thousands of partygoers that flock to the Island. Rival networks from Liverpool and Manchester are thought to be the principal controllers of the Ibiza drugs trade, who then flood the resort towns with armies of suppliers targeting young holidaymakers. This latest series of raids is the biggest this year, September 2009 saw similar crackdowns that netted 25 traffickers from Liverpool. In those raids police seized 23,000 ecstasy tablets, two guns and cash books and money thought to be worth in excess of £50,000. Reports have estimated that up to 40,000 ecstasy tablets are sold to partygoers and thrill-seekers every day during the summer season, with almost half of British visitors between 16-35 admitting to having taken a substance at least once while on the holiday Island.