Lorraine Williamson
A new Guardia Civil operation has put the focus back on southern Spain’s drug-trafficking routes after officers arrested 20 people linked to a cocaine network tied to the so-called “Risitas” clan. The raids were carried out in Algeciras, San Roque, Los Barrios, La Línea, and Marbella, giving the case a clear Andalucia footprint and a Costa del Sol hook at the same time.
The leader of the organisation was among those arrested. According to the Guardia Civil, he had managed to escape during Operation Kiken in 2023, when 30 people were detained, and more than 1,000 kilos of cocaine were seized, but he has now been caught in this latest phase of the investigation.
How the network changed after the last big crackdown
Investigators say the group adapted after the 2023 operation instead of disappearing. The Guardia Civil says the network bought a road transport company to give itself stable commercial cover and reduce suspicion around its movements linked to the Port of Algeciras.
That detail matters because it shows how these networks evolve. This was not, according to investigators, a loose local gang moving drugs in an improvised way, but a more structured organisation that tried to blend criminal logistics into normal-looking freight activity. That is an inference drawn from the Guardia Civil’s account of the transport-company cover and the group’s increasingly sophisticated methods.
Hidden compartments and inside information at the port
The method described by the Guardia Civil is one of the most striking parts of the case. Officers say the clan moved on from hiding cocaine in truck cabins and began using double floors under semi-trailers, both to conceal the drugs and to smuggle in the people tasked with opening containers and extracting the cargo.
Investigators also say the network relied on port stevedores who provided internal information and helped track movements inside the container terminal at Algeciras. In the Guardia Civil’s version of events, that insider support gave the group a much higher level of control and reduced the risk of detection during extraction operations.
The 445-kilo cocaine link that helped crack the case
The investigation also ties the organisation to a 445-kilo cocaine seizure in October 2025 at an industrial unit in Los Guijos, Algeciras. The Guardia Civil says two suspected members of the clan were caught in the act while extracting the drug haul from a hidden compartment in a semi-trailer.
From there, officers say they were able to map the network’s locations and infrastructure in greater detail. That led to 22 property searches across Cádiz province and Marbella, and eventually to the detention of alleged drivers, logistics helpers, and port-linked collaborators as well as the clan’s leader.
Why this matters beyond one police operation
There is a reason this story lands beyond the crime pages. The case again places the Port of Algeciras and southern Spain’s freight routes at the heart of a major cocaine-trafficking investigation, while also underlining how organised groups can extend their reach into legitimate transport structures and port activity.
For Andalucia readers, the geography is especially telling. The raids were concentrated around the Campo de Gibraltar but extended to Marbella, reinforcing the wider point that these networks do not stay neatly contained within one municipality or one stretch of coast.
One key figure is still missing
The operation is not yet fully closed. While the leader known as “Risitas” has been detained, the Guardia Civil says the second senior figure in the organisation remains missing and the investigation is still open as officers try to identify other possible collaborators.
That leaves this as a significant blow, but not necessarily the end of the story. The latest raids may have dismantled a large part of the structure, yet the Guardia Civil’s own wording makes clear that the follow-up phase is still under way.