Drug Bust
Police arrested 29 people between Cadiz and the Costa del Sol in a massive drug bust yesterday.
Over 500 Guardia Civil officers from across the country were involved in an operation that resulted in 36 different property searches.
Most police activity focused on La Linea, where police arrested several people linked to the Castañitas drug gang who dominate the city.
The infamous gang are thought to control 70% of the hash that makes its way across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco.
The police operation used helicopters and boats, while a roadblock with vehicle controls was in place on the perimeter of La Linea.
It comes as the Government delegate in Andalucia warned young people who choose a life of drug trafficking they will ‘finish up in jail’.
The politician made the stark warning in Sevilla and also said “We will not stop until we find the last drug trafficker of the Campo de Gibraltar.
Power Plants
Spain aims to close all seven of its nuclear plants between 2025 and 2035 as part of plans to generate all the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2050.
Energy Minister Teresa Ribera announced the move yesterday just as the Socialist government gears up to call an early national election in anticipation of losing a budget vote.
Overhauling Spain’s energy system, which generated 40 percent of its mainland electricity from renewable sources in 2018, will require investment of 235 billion euros between 2021 and 2030, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last month.
Ribera said the government would present a draft plan to combat climate change, which had been due to be sent to the European Union for approval by the end of last year, to parliament on Feb. 22.
Phasing out nuclear power, which accounts for a little over 20 percent of mainland Spain’s electricity, was a campaign pledge for the Socialists, who took office last summer.
Jihadist Arrest
The National Police, supported by Europol, have arrested a man in Ceuta suspected of indoctrinating young people and promoting and disseminating jihadist terrorist propaganda.
Police officers also carried out a search of his house in the city.
In 2001, the man was serving prison time and made contact with other prisoners who shared their radical ideas with him.
Since then, he had been arrested several times for illicit arms possession, robberies and drug-related crimes.
Europol supported the Spanish authorities by providing analytical support, social media analysis and deploying one expert from the Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre.