A National Police operation in Torrevieja, conducted by the Judicial Police team from the Elche area, has dismantled a mid level cocaine trafficking network based in a residential area of the town. A fifty-two-year-old man and his twenty-four-year-old daughter have been arrested on charges of drug trafficking, illicit weapons possession and money laundering, after investigators linked their lifestyle to income not declared to the tax authorities. The force has described the investigation as showing extensive use of funds and assets not commensurate with declared earnings when the couple were under observation.

The inquiry has established that the suspect used testaferros — straw owners — to mask ownership of vehicles and property. A car and a motorcycle were registered in different names, with the actual owners unable to drive, a tactic police say is common in this criminal milieu. The daughter acted as the administrator of two companies involved in construction, home sales and vehicle trading, and is listed as owner of four properties in Torrevieja and Orihuela. The pair did not act alone and the operation involved multiple lines of inquiry.

Searches at the family home and a nearby garage recovered more than nine kilograms of cocaine, three firearms with magazines and ammunition, and part of the seized cash. Five high-end vehicles, eight Rolex watches, electronic devices used to evade police controls, vacuum packing machines and precision scales were also seized. The investigations also revealed a fourteen-metre sailboat moored at Torrevieja harbour, where law enforcement officers conducted a further search that yielded documents relevant to the case. The sailboat has been embargoed by the court.

One of the detainees has been brought before the Torrevieja Court of Instruction and has been ordered to remain in provisional detention while prosecutors pursue the case. The investigation continues with other lines of inquiry as officers review financial records and potential distribution networks in the region.