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A total of 25 people have been arrested as part of Operation Arrow (Operación Flecha in Spanish), a joint operation between the Guardia Civil and SOCA (Serious and Organised Crime Agency), the British Embassy in Madrid confirmed yesterday.

Twelve houses have been searched and 38'000 ecstasy tablets, 4 kilogrammes of cocaine, 250 grams of ketamine, 4 litres of GHB, 50 grams of crystal MDMA, 1 kg of M.CATS (a mix of various drugs) and 40'000 euros have been seized as part of Operation Arrow.

The drug ring, led from the UK, had two branches in Ibiza, one in charge of establishing contacts on the island and the other responsible for the distribution of the drugs.

The Civil Guard has arrested 24 people (14 men and 11 women), 20 of them British nationals, 1 Irish national, 1 Czech national, 1 Slovak and 1 Spaniard who belong to the most active organisation on the island involved in the distribution of ecstasy tablets and other drugs near night clubs and other leisure areas.

The drug ring was led from the UK
The investigation began last September following Operation Trafalgar, when the Civil Guard dismantled a British organisation involved in drug trafficking on Ibiza.

Following analysis of some seized documents and information obtained as a result of the operation, SOCA were contacted and worked together with the Guardia Civil to identify the criminal organisation operating in Ibiza, which was directed from the UK.

Earlier in the summer, the people now arrested were detected and several surveillance measures were put in place.
It was suspected that they were trying to build the necessary infrastructure for drug distribution in Ibiza during the summer months.
The investigation confirmed that a drug trafficking organisation based in the UK had established a 2-branch network in Ibiza. One of the branches was in charge of establishing a network on the island and the other of physical distribution of the drugs.

The branches were led from the UK by a group supplying the drugs. Members of the drug ring regularly visited the islands to supervise and collect the proceeds.

The organisation rented several properties on Ibiza, including luxury villas for the ringleaders and flats and apartments in tourist resorts for the dealers.

The dealers would keep various quantities of drugs for daily distribution and the bulk of the drugs in secure houses where they did not live.
The ring used young ‘public relations’ people in nightclubs to distribute drugs and ensured similar prices were charged at each point of sale, depending on the time and place.

The drugs were brought onto the island using various methods including hiding them in cars from the UK and in the luggage of British tourists coming into Ibiza airport. On 8 August, a young British woman tried to carry 3 kilos of cocaine through Ibiza airport.

Seized material

38'000 tablets of ecstasy

4'000 grams of cocaine

250 grams of ketamine

50 grams of crystal MDMA

4 litres of liquid ecstasy

1'000 grams of a new substance, M.CATS.

One hydraulic tablet press, several precision weighing balances and several substances to cut the drugs with.

40'000 euros

PALMA
RESIDENTS in the west Palma neighbourhood of Son Armadans have voiced concern over the increase in the number of street drinking parties (botellón) that are being held in the area.

Local people had feared that once tougher measures introduced by Palma City Council to tackle the botellón so adversely affecting local businesses on the Paseo Maritimo came into effect, that revellers would simply up camp and move to another area.

Tomeu Berga, the President of the Son Armadans Neighbourhood Association said yesterday that it looked as though his members fears were becoming justified. “We’ve always had the problem of the botellón on our doorstep to a lesser degree,” he explained “but over the past few months, it’s becoming much more noticeable.” Increasingly, said Berga, there are cars parked haphazardly in the streets with windows down and young people drinking into the early hours of the morning.” But Son Armadans is not the only area to get the “overspill”from the botellon that has been moved on from the Paseo Maritimo. Apparently Calle Pilar Juncosa, AlmirallGravina and the zones around Gomila are similarly suffering.

Iriondo was meeting with Balearic President Francesc Antich to give an assessment of how the summer tourist season has gone. Iriondo was accompanied at the meeting by Bartomeu Servera, the President of small to medium-sized business association (Afedeco) and Margalida Ramis of Grupotel. Iriondo emphasized the visitor numbers but questioned whether the amount of money tourists have spent has actually increased. Given than the hotels have had to slash their prices to such an extent to secure reservations, Iriondo is supported in his view by the Tourist Spend Research Board “Egatur”. “Neither the hoteliers, traders or Majorcan businessmen have seen any such increase (in the daily tourist spend),” Iriondo affirmed.
Iriondo also pointed out that it has in part been a question of “luck” for the Balearics that other holiday destinations have filled, in some cases to over-booking” resulting in reservations being made in the Islands that otherwise might not have been.

The hope is, said the President of the Majorcan Tourist Board, that this winter is going to be better for tourism in the Balearics than last, but he issued a cautionary note saying that bookings are still following a trend of being made “at the very last moment.” Iriondo explained to Antich some of the promotional activities which are being carried out to attract business such as the Tourist Board’s new press and information centre, but he also highlighted his concerns to the Balearic President over safety on the Playa de Palma and in Magalluf, and over the still unfinished Congress Centre at the eastern end of the Paseo Maritimo in Palma.

Iriondo said to Antich that the business tourist industry had been waiting for the completion of the centre “for many years.” Antich gave assurances that the regional government wants the project to go forward and for such is searching for financing from a “number of different sources” after its original sponsors backed out. “We don’t want to think about the possibility of the Congress Centre never becoming operational,“ said Iriondo.

THE heir to the Spanish throne, Crown Prince Felipe and his wife, Princess Letizia of Asturias, yesterday gave their full backing to the bid being made by the Council of Majorca for UNESCO to declare the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range a natural heritage site.

The Crown Prince and his wife yesterday held a meeting with the President of the Council of Majorca, Francina Armengol and the Island Councillor for Planning, Maria Lluïsa Dubon, at the Almudaina Palace to discuss the project further.

Armengol gave the Prince a memory stick which contains all the details of their UNESCO bid and also showed the Prince and Princess the books which contain over 12'000 signatures of support from a wide range of people including illustrious Majorcan residents and visitors such as the Hollywood actor Michael Douglas.

The royals were also given the promotional video and a set of photographs of the Serra de Tramuntana.
Earlier this summer, King Juan Carlos of Spain, expressed a great deal of interest in the project which he too considers an extremely valid initiative.

Emerging from the meeting, Armengol said that both the Prince and Princess were very well informed about the bid but were keen to hear more about what the bid really initials and what the Council of Majorca is doing to push the bid along.

Dubon described the meeting as “very positive”. “It is a pleasure and an honour that the Prince and Princess are willing to help us where they consider it opportune,” Armengol said.
And she added that, the fact the Prince and Princess called a special meeting just to discuss the UNESCO bid is an indication of just how important the initiative is.

JUNE DEADLINE
In March, UNESCO told the Council of Majorca to continue with its bid, having studied what documentation was available at that time and the selection process ends in June of next year.

According to Armengol, all of Spain’s Colleges of Architects are going to give the bid their full backing next week which in turn will give the bid even more weight.