Spanish investigators uncovered a sophisticated drug trafficking network operating through the port of Valencia. Guardia Civil officers allegedly received up to 20% of the profits to let cocaine shipments worth more than €60 million pass unchecked. EL PAÍS reported that intercepted encrypted chats detailed the alleged payments. Authorities dismantled the network in Operation Spider in July 2025, targeting the group described as the “Cartel del Puerto.”
Operation Spider was part of a wider anti-narcotics campaign in the Valencia region. El Periódico Mediterráneo, citing police official Gajero, reported that authorities arrested more than 400 people connected to roughly 30 criminal organizations across the broader effort. Those figures refer to the campaign as a whole, not solely to Operation Spider.
The criminal group, led by figures identified as Daniel and Coscu, coordinated the movement of large quantities of cocaine hidden in shipping containers. Its members used the encrypted app Zangi to negotiate bribes to Guardia Civil agents, whom they called “los verdes,” to ensure the drugs passed safely. The traffickers debated whether to pay officers directly or use intermediaries. They stressed the need to identify which officials were involved in case of complications.
Case reporting put the Operation Spider seizure at 4.5 tonnes of cocaine and the number of arrests at 81, including a Guardia Civil officer. Valencia’s Instruction Court 15 led the investigation. It found that the network paid truck drivers between €100,000 and €120,000 per shipment, while port workers known as “rompedores” received €50,000 to remove container seals. The organization also considered hiring a Colombian mercenary to deal with a driver suspected of betrayal, showing its readiness to use violence to maintain control.
The network’s structure reached deep into port operations. Nine drivers and 17 port workers, including three basic stevedores, helped move the cocaine. The group infiltrated the port’s employment center, using a union official and a doctor to manipulate hiring exams and control staff rotations. That allowed it to manage container movements and ensure trusted personnel handled its shipments.
To avoid detection, the traffickers regularly deleted messages and rotated dozens of mobile phones. Police recovered communications with forensic tools. The group often knew in real time when law enforcement seized its shipments and sometimes learned where officers were monitoring its activities through paid informants inside the port.
After losing two shipments in one week, the organization explored new routes. One option was a test run from the Dominican Republic involving 400 kilograms of cocaine. Its legal front was the transport company Lematrans, based at Valencia’s Club Náutico, which provided false entry orders to extract containers from the port. Information from the case summary, this enabled the group to move 1,160 kilograms of cocaine in a single operation.
Spain’s ports, particularly Valencia, have become major entry points for South American cocaine into Europe, behind only Antwerp and Rotterdam. Operation Spider’s scale and complexity show the challenges Spanish authorities face in combating organized crime at critical infrastructure hubs. The case also exposes the vulnerability of port logistics to corruption.
Data from Spain’s Ministry of the Interior show that cocaine seizures in Spanish ports have increased over the past decade as traffickers adapt their methods. Encrypted communications, attempts to penetrate port employment systems and alleged bribery of law enforcement show the operational challenges posed by organized drug trafficking. Operation Spider has brought these vulnerabilities into focus, including the security of port logistics and oversight of public officials.
