Officers seized an unnumbered 9mm pistol described as ready for use, along with €8,300 in cash, at a public car park in Ponferrada. The seizure came during Rubber Duck, a Guardia Civil operation that led to six arrests. Two alleged leading members have been remanded in custody.
The investigation began in summer 2025, after the Guardia Civil detected increased drug distribution in Sarria and nearby parts of Lugo province. Investigators traced frequent journeys from Madrid to Ponferrada and the Sarria-Lugo area, suspecting the travellers were supplying local distributors. The network was believed to operate across Galicia and León, linking Madrid-based contacts with distributors in Lugo and Ponferrada. Investigators also identified contacts in Madrid and what they described as significant security measures taken by the group.
Two Lugo residents, aged 68 and 51, were arrested in Madrid in September 2025, where officers seized one kilogram of cocaine. The group used cars with concealed compartments, known as “caletas,” to hide drugs and, at times, weapons. Later that year, officers arrested two more men in Ponferrada: a local resident aged 36 and a Madrid resident aged 34. The latter allegedly carried a forged driving licence in another person’s name; his own licence was not in force.
The final arrests took place in Sarria, where two residents aged 44 and 33 were suspected of supplying drugs to the area and other municipalities. Authorities described them as suspected final distributors to consumers in Sarria and nearby municipalities. The case is separate from a Lugo vehicle-fraud matter involving buyers, covered in this earlier court report.
The Guardia Civil attributes drug-trafficking and illegal firearms possession, as well as public-document forgery and road-safety offences, to all six. The two alleged principal members were remanded in custody, and the case file was sent to the Tribunal Plaza uno, sección de instrucción de Lugo. The arrests and allegations have not resulted in final convictions.
