The police operation was carried out after receiving information through the 091 operational room, which allowed National Police patrol officers to identify and secure the property. It was located in a rural area difficult to access, between the urban center of Jerez and the rural district of Mesas de Asta, in one of the traditional vineyard cultivation areas of the Marco de Jerez region.

The clandestine facility had a strategically placed video surveillance camera system. The seized material included 120 25-liter jerry cans full of gasoline, totaling 3,000 liters, plus two 100-liter drums also full, adding another 200 liters. Additionally, 150 empty 25-liter jerry cans were found, indicating a total storage capacity of 6,950 liters, including both full and empty containers.

This discovery suggests that the property functioned as a significant logistical point for transporting fuel to the coast, from where it was distributed to vessels known as “petaqueras,” responsible for supplying the large quantities of gasoline required by narco-boats.

During the search of the property, in addition to the fuel, officers seized bladed weapons, various documents, and several mobile phones, with the investigation still ongoing. The Narcotics Group located and arrested the alleged perpetrator, a 42-year-old man with a criminal record, on the morning of April 6. He is charged with catastrophic risk for possession of flammable substances, as well as resistance and disobedience to authority. The arrested individual was taken to police facilities and subsequently brought before the judicial authority.

It is worth noting that the Congress of Deputies definitively approved the Organic Law on repeat offenses on March 26, which includes, among other measures, the classification of “petaqueo” as an autonomous crime. This refers to the clandestine supply of fuel to narco-boats operating off the Spanish coasts, particularly in the Strait of Gibraltar.