Ramón Orta, the leader of a Mallorca clan that bears his name and notorious for drugs activities not centred on Palma, is one of nine suspects released from pre-trial detention by the Audiencia Nacional national court in Madrid.
Orta and the others were among 74 people arrested in a wave of Guardia Civil/National Police raids that followed the arrests of lawyer Gonzalo Márquez and the leader of the United Tribuns bikers, Stefan Milojevic, in August last year. Márquez and Milojevic are accused of heading a drugs trafficking and money laundering gang based in Mallorca. The case has been described as the island's biggest ever drugs operation and investigation. A National Police inspector, Faustino Nogales, formerly head of the narcotics group, was also arrested last August.
Twenty-seven of the 74 were ordered to prison. Nine of them have now been released, some on bail. This follows the transfer of the investigation from Palma to the Audiencia Nacional. The transfer reflects the scale of the investigation, which isn't limited to Spain.
Defence lawyers argued successfully for the release of Orta and the eight others. On previous occasions when cases have been transferred to Madrid, the court has agreed to release from pre-trial detention.
There is no date for the trial. The nine will in the meantime have to appear in court once a month. Their passports have been confiscated, and they have to provide the court with a telephone number on which they can be contacted and report any change of address.