The National Police has arrested this Thursday the son of inspector Faustino Nogales, imprisoned since August, for his alleged collaboration with the international network that used Ibiza as a key point to introduce large shipments of cocaine and hashish in the Balearic Islands. Sources of the investigation point out that the arrested person would have made internal warnings or leaks to members of the criminal group, a behavior that is also attributed to his father.
An inspector under suspicion
Nogales worked in National Police units with access to operational information and was considered a sensitive profile within the force, which amplified the impact of his arrest about three months ago. The investigator of the case attributes to him advances of reserved data, supposedly communicated to the organization led by Stefan Milojevic, a referent of the United Tribuns and linked to criminal structures in the Balkans. His son, now arrested, appears in the investigation after reviewing new communications, recent records and movements linked to the group.
Ibiza, logistics hub of the network
The arrest is part of the Enroque-Manso macro-operation, led by the National Police and the Guardia Civil, which documented how the scheme was recovering shipments launched from merchant ships in Ibizan waters, located by GPS beacons and picked up by high-powered speedboats before being stored in hidden infrastructures on the island.
According to the reports, the island functioned as a secure warehouse, a platform for redistribution to Mallorca and the mainland and an enclave for money laundering, through front companies and real estate operations. Among those investigated are the lawyer Gonzalo Márquez, considered an essential piece in the channeling of funds, and ‘El Vito’, whose activity was linked to areas such as Son Banya.
The inspector’s son is the 77th detainee in the case. His arrest stems from an extension of proceedings following searches of homes, ships and boats. In total, the agents seized 687 kilos of cocaine, 2,500 kilos of hashish, 1.5 million euros, 16 firearms, high-end watches and key documentation to reconstruct the international route.
The case is still under investigation while the scope of the possible internal leaks, their impact on the development of the operation and whether they could lead to new arrests in the coming days are being analyzed.
