Drug violence in the Strait fuels calls to revive elite OCON-Sur unit

OCON-Sur has been disbanded for four years, but the elite Guardia Civil unit still lives on in the loyalty of the 260 officers who served in it. Members continue to order patches, bracelets and knives bearing the group's name. One earlier shirt listed its record: 1.2 tonnes of drugs seized, €72 million and 12,800 arrests.

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escalation of insecurity

Now rising violence in the Strait of Gibraltar region has revived demands for its return. Andalusia's regional president, Juanma Moreno, has called for the unit's reactivation amid what he described as an “escalation of insecurity” and violence. Professional associations and anti-drug prosecutors have also been warning for months about the situation.

Four people were shot dead in suspected settling-of-scores attacks in Utrera and Isla Cristina, in Huelva, within three days of one another in August. “This is abandoned. Drugs enter from everywhere, and the problem is that they are not reaching the organizations' kingpins. They are not getting to the top,” said an officer who held a leadership role in OCON.

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This is abandoned. Drugs enter from everywhere, and the problem is that they are not reaching the organizations' kingpins. They are not getting to the top.

The Organismo de Coordinación de Operaciones contra el Narcotráfico was created in September 2018 as part of a government plan to restore authority in Campo de Gibraltar. The extraordinary situation included the kidnapping of a detained drug trafficker from a hospital. David Oliva, who grew up in Campo de Gibraltar and had fought traffickers in Barbate and the Cádiz command, designed the unit around a single view of the drug problem across jurisdictions, combining prevention with investigation.

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We worked 24/7. In three operations, we carried out as many as 40 raids in one day.

The unit's former members describe an unrelenting operation. Its roughly 150-agent permanent staff expanded to 260 officers over its four years, with no distinction between working days, holidays and weekends. “We worked 24/7. In three operations, we carried out as many as 40 raids in one day,” one former member said. Even some who want Oliva back acknowledge the limits of nostalgia. “If Dad comes back, the 200 come back,” one member said, referring to Oliva and the officers who served under him. Yet the article says that even he recognizes the difference between the unit's legend and the current reality.

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If Dad comes back, the 200 come back.