Top Netflix #1: Is This Spanish Series Based On A True Story?

This is the streak that took down Bridgerton without anyone seeing it coming. Coke Clans, available on Netflix from June 21, immediately found its audience. As is often the case on Netflix, many crime dramas take inspiration from true stories as the basis of their narratives. And Coke Clans is no exception to the rule.

Inspired by a police operation aimed at dismantling the drug trade in Galicia, the Spanish Netflix series is inspired by a true story, with a good dose of “artistic license”, more vividly romanticized in rose water.

In short, Coke Clans is a revenge and love story between Ana (Clara Lago), a lawyer who recently arrived in the small town of Cambados in search of answers about her father’s death, and Daniel Padin (Tamar Novas). Leaders of the drug trade in Galicia. Yes, the series is indeed based on true events, but as is often the case, the problem is separating truth from fiction.

Operation Necora

A quick search of police operations against drug traffickers in the region of Spain where the series is set reveals details of Operation Necora. The operation took place in Galicia and was part of a police investigation into drug trafficking, which has led to the decline of the region’s fishing industry, due to the importation of smuggled cigarettes by sea.

As this trade expanded, the region became an ideal location for smuggling illegal goods, primarily cocaine and hashish. Finally, Operation Nekora led to the arrest of 51 people. This is the first time in Spain that penitents have been used in a trial related to drug trafficking. In the story of Coke Clans, it is Anna’s father who repents before he can get over his past, being shot in cold blood after more than 30 years.

Drug smuggling in and around Galicia will be the subject of a book Farina, which means “flour” in Gaelic. This book was adapted in 2018 into another Spanish series called Fariña Cocaïne Coast, which tells the story of fishermen involved in the illegal tobacco trade, before taking on darker themes such as money laundering and drug smuggling.

It is very far between Anne and Daniel Bluet.