Overview

• After a year of surveillance, Operation Olimpia led to 19 arrests and the seizure of at least 2,332 kilos of cocaine moved through Portuguese ports with bales concealed in bovine hides.
• Authorities intercepted two key consignments in June (about 600 kilos) and August (about 1,500 kilos), conducted 32 searches and seized cash, encrypted and satellite phones, frequency inhibitors and vehicles.
• The Guardia Civil’s UCO and Galicia’s ECO worked with Portugal’s Polícia Judiciária under Europol coordination, with the DEA and partners from Italy and the Dominican Republic participating as authorized observers.
• Spain’s 2024 prosecutorial report, published on 5 September, notes a 28.65% jump in drug cases in Málaga and highlights a scanner shortfall at its port with reliance on a private operator whose employees are under investigation.
• Prosecutors report escalating violence with paramilitary aesthetics and war‑type weapons, as diverse concealment methods—from hides and coal to bananas, cans and ship hulls—complicate detection across trafficking routes.