It smelled like it was being fed. A paradise for meat lovers. What the customers couldn't imagine (nor the National Police, until he found the hiding place) was that the smell of steaks, shrimp and broken eggs served to camouflage what was cooking in the back room of the grill. Literally, because behind a secret passage was a laboratory for synthetic drugs and a good batch of hashish. It was the perfect cover.
Until two weeks ago, Udyco Central chained five of those involved, all of Romanian nationality, as part of the specialties on the restaurant's menu. The establishment, which is still open to the public although its Instagram profile has been suspended at its own request, is located on Aragón Avenue, on one side of the A-2 (Barcelona Motorway).
Operation Magu began almost a year ago, in mid-2023. It all started when investigators discovered the existence of a cocaine import network that, as is often the case, used shell companies. Following the trail of the members, they saw that their meetings were held in the restaurant, normally in a room reserved for the rest of the guests.
In addition, there was another strange fact: on the days when the store was closed, there were often quite a few people left and they were only inside for about 20 minutes. It was complicated for them to eat there, with those schedules.
After months of surveillance and other police investigations, The agents managed to put the structure of the mafia in black and white, with division of tasks for each of those involved. They also identified the partners who brought the cocaine through the port of Valencia, some Colombians living in that city.
At the beginning of this month of May, they observed a constant movement of vehicles during one of the monitoring. This led to suspicion that a narcotic drug could be delivered, taking advantage of the absence of customers.
The defendants came and went with bags, speeding the entry of the officials. As soon as they entered, they noticed a strong odor of chemicals in the area, such as sulfur. Therefore, they immediately evacuated the room and sealed it off, due to the danger that some kind of explosion would occur.
A machine used by drug traffickers to process drugs
When they were finally able to move safely, they discovered that there were dozens of stacked chairs on the same property, in a house next to the grill. And behind them was a butron that connected both rooms: that's how they discovered the drug laboratory, specifically methamphetamines.
The stench of chemicals was extraordinary, but they simulated it with the smells of the restaurant kitchen; specifically, with two large charcoal grills (one inside and one outside), sources in the case explain.
A safe with money
During the search, police seized 5 kilos of hashish contained in one of the refrigerators, arranged in vacuum-packed bricks, a pistol magazine, several knives and a beacon detector. In another room, hidden in a false bottom of a closet, they found a large security safe built into the wall. After more than three hours of work (given the security measures in place), they managed to open the door, finding and seizing almost 60,000 euros in counterfeit banknotes.
Inside the home of the organization's leader were an electric pistol, some cuffs, an extendable defense, numerous knives and machetes, as well as several radio transmitters and GPS beacons. Exactly, one of the remaining problems is locating the leader. Three of the five arrested Romanians have been remanded in custody: they are the boss's partner and two members responsible for the supervision and security of the premises.
The other detainees had access to the drugs and the laboratory, in addition to their cooperation in all activities related to the drug trade, and they maintained the cover, lending apparent legality to the company, which continued to ship grills yesterday.