The arrests that started in August and which brought down one of the most significant drugs organisations ever known in Mallorca numbered more than seventy. Of these, more than half are in pre-trial detention, including the leaders of the organisation, Gonzalo Márquez and Stefan Milojevic, and a former head of a National Police narcotics squad, Faustino Nogales.
Defence lawyers representing individuals who have been detained have submitted a document to the investigating judge requesting their release. They maintain that procedural errors in parts of the investigation were made. These specifically relate to requests for extensions of the proceedings, which the lawyers claim were not submitted in a timely and proper manner.
After one of the lawyers detected this potential procedural oversight, others were advised. They argue that parts of the investigation are now beyond the legal timeframe.
A case in Ibiza serves as something of a reference for the lawyers. Three years ago, those arrested in Operation 'Dragon Ball' against drug trafficking and money laundering were released because the necessary extension of the investigation had not been requested. The defence argued for the annulment of the proceedings and the pretrial detention. Dragon Ball led to the dismantling of an Italian group and a network of Albanian origin.