Spanish Police Uncover ’VillaNarco’: Luxury Hideout for Moroccan Drug Traffickers in Protected Area

With the help of drones, the Spanish police have visited this area they call "VillaNarco". Four years ago, there were 19 villas belonging to Moroccan hashish trafficking clans. Today, there are more than 100, police sources told Caso Aberto, stating that "all the major organizations" have residences there. The streets of the area are narrow and dusty with direct access from the Atunara beach where the hashish is unloaded. The area is not connected to the conventional water and electricity network and the villas have been built without a building permit.

The villas of these drug traffickers stand out from the other residences in the El Zabal area by their very high walls. Inside VillaNarco, mobile phones stop working due to the frequency jammers installed. Security cameras also monitor the entrances and exits. Most of these villas are registered in the names of homeless people and beggars in La Línea for a payment of more than a thousand euros per month. In some villas, the police found cash hidden in kitchen towels or in cupboards, in the basement, under a jacuzzi, etc.

The drone images show the inside of these luxury villas with slides, a trampoline, inflatable castles, a huge elephant with fresh water coming out of its trunk, luxury cars, an artificial grass pitch, etc. "We found designer clothes there, I remember 50 Hugo Boss baby booties, whole boxes of Chanel, Louis Vuitton phone cases, gold coins, an Omega watch worth a hundred thousand euros..." recalls a police officer specialized in the fight against money laundering who visited these villas.

"Attempts have been made to prosecute them for an offense against land use planning, but it is a slow process and they will receive very light sentences. It is very difficult to order the demolition of a house," explains a police specialist on the case. In addition, the police are trying to prosecute them for money laundering. "When we manage to find out who is hiding behind one of these houses, several new companies appear as the new owners of the land and we have to start all over again," laments Juan Franco, the mayor of La Línea.