Police have seized a life-sized Popeye statue containing more than 6st of methamphetamine hidden in its base.
The garish sculpture of the cartoon hero was confiscated as part of a crackdown on Europe’s “most powerful” synthetic drug trafficking gang.
“It wasn’t spinach that Popeye was carrying,” joked the Spanish National Police after thwarting the Spanish-Mexican syndicate yesterday (7 Jan).
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Their Operation Saga “dismantled what investigators consider the main European supply point for synthetic drugs”, the force said.
The investigation began in 2023 and delivered a major blow in May 2024 with the seizure of 1.8 tonnes of crystal meth – Europe’s second largest meth haul to date.
Five people were arrested at that stage, but the group continued operating.
They sent the bizarre Popeye statue to Tenerife in July 2024.
The statue, which was 1.5m (4ft 11in) tall, contained 40kg (6st 4lb) of meth in its base. A veteran trafficker from Tenerife was arrested in connection with the shipment.
The network also trafficked other drugs, as a shipment of 38kg (5st 13lb) of marijuana sent to Finland was intercepted during the investigation.
Nine people in total were arrested during the operation, conducted alongside the US Drug Enforcement Administration, as reported by Need To Know.
Among those arrested was a member of El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel, who was hiding in a Madrid flat and being paid €2,500 (£2,200) a month for his silence.
Another was the owner of a marble company, whose warehouse held nearly €3m (£2.6m) of drugs, hidden in a bunker under the floor.
The network’s leader, who coordinated operations between Dubai and Mexico, was also arrested.
Seven homes across Valencia, Alicante, Málaga, and Madrid were searched, yielding luxury watches, mobile phones, geolocation devices, and ammunition.
The suspects face charges of drug trafficking, membership in a criminal organisation, and money laundering, with three remanded in custody.
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