Europe’s biggest cocaine laboratory lies at the end of a muddy Spanish track 65km from Madrid, its neighbors mostly unsuspecting sheep and heifers grazing in tranquil pastures.
An abandoned forklift in the driveway was the only evidence left on Tuesday that this white-painted villa had been home to a sophisticated laboratory — and a 33 tonne stockpile of chemicals used to transform cocaine base into the drug that fuels much of the Spanish capital’s night life.
At the national police headquarters in Madrid on Tuesday, officers displayed a haul of cocaine-refining equipment, automatic pistols, iPads, stacks of 500 euro (US$673) notes and shrink-wrapped blocks of cocaine taken from the villa and safe houses owned by the gang.
Twenty-five people had been arrested, police said, and assets valued at 50 million euros were being investigated.
“I have worked in the drug squad for 20 years and have never seen anything like it or heard of anything comparable in the rest of Europe,” said Francisco Miguelanez, head of the serious crime squad. “They were obsessed by security and even had directional microphones to track what was happening outside.”
In the countryside 5km from the town of Villanueva de Perales, locals scratched their heads in amazement.
“I couldn’t believe it when the police arrived. The guy there, who I knew as Nestor, seemed so normal. He would say hello and sometimes sat down for a beer if I offered him one,” said Javier, who helps his father run a herd of 40 cows on neighboring Villa Esmeralda farm. “He said he worked over the Internet.”
“He used to drive like a maniac, though. He’d get into his Audi and tear off at speed,” said Jose Luis Bernabe, whose smallholding overlooks the two-story stone villa the gang rented for two years.
In that time, Nestor — described as being in his mid-30s and having one arm — rarely received visitors. A gardener came once a week from a nearby village, but apart from that the man did not let people in through the metal gate.
“I’d chat to Nestor over the gate,” said Javier, who did not want to give his surname. “I thought he was Basque. He was a bit strange, but perfectly nice.”
Police made public the laboratory’s discovery on Tuesday, though an armed team had stormed the house on Jan. 7.
Police also discovered 300kg of cocaine valued at 10 million euros and 2 million euros in cash inside hideaways at Madrid safe-houses. Police said the operation was continuing and more people could be detained soon.
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