The Port of Barcelona receives 70 million tons of goods every year.
Only 2% of the 6,000 containers received per day are inspected.
10,000 kg of cocaine were seized in 2023,
hidden in containers arriving from all over the world.
That figure is estimated to account for less than 10% of drugs
entering through the port.
This makes Barcelona one of the main European gateways
for the lucrative business of drug trafficking.
PORT OF BARCELONA
See you on Monday.
-Navarro! -Hey, Skinny!
What's up? Leaving late, huh?
-What? -You're off work late today.
Yeah, we had to unload a shipment that was delayed.
We worked our asses off.
Not grabbing a drink with the guys?
No, not today. I've got things going on at home.
We're meeting my daughter's boyfriend.
Sure. Get in here.
What's going on?
I just want to talk. Come here a minute.
Hey, what the hell's going on?
Nothing.
Just stevedore stuff.
-What? -Get in the car.
-But why? -Because I said so, Navarro.
-But-- -Do I have to make you?
Jesus, Skinny--
For fuck's sake, get in.
We can work this out, just you and me.
Hop in. We're not gonna hurt you.
-Come on. And be quiet. -Don't do this.
-Tell them to let me go. -Come on.
-You're hurting me. -Let's go.
Stay out of it.
Skinny, please!
-Get in. -Careful.
Careful, dammit.
Come on.
Let's go.
You were right.
The prick was screwing us over.
Hey!
-You don't steal from the Manchados. -Enough.
Joaquín, forgive me, for God's sake.
I'm begging you. Please.
I know.
I know what I've done…
It isn't…
I swear to God it won't happen again.
Of course it won't.
Joaquín, please. I'm begging you.
Do it for my father.
I'm here because of him.
Out of respect for your father.
Your father was a good man.
You aren't half the man he was.
Open your fucking mouth! Open up.
Please! Stop, please!
Swallow, you son of a bitch!
Drink up, you bastard!
Don't move!
Now you'll see, asshole.
Open your mouth and stay still.
In my 40 years at the port, many things have changed, except one.
The rats.
There were rats before I got here,
there are rats now, and there'll be rats after I'm gone.
That's why we have to keep them in line.
They spread diseases.
The worst of them is greed.
There's no cure for it.
Whoever it spreads to…
If you don't do anything,
before you know it, it's all over the port.
When you kill…
When you kill a rat,
you're telling the other rats, "You can't do as you please here."
"You can't sink your teeth into our children's bread."
Here, we have rules.
But you already knew that.
You knew that because your father told you.
Like your grandfather told him.
Look at me.
You already knew.
So there's no forgiving you.
IRON REIGN
CHAPTER 1 THE LAW OF THE PORT
-Morning. -Morning, Mr. Manchado. Coffee?
Black, yeah. Thanks.
Manuel, what's up? What did you catch today?
A few fish and a lot of plastic.
Things have really changed.
Yeah. It was never easy. Here, have these.
-No, please-- -These are for you.
Fresh out of the water.
Wow.
I'm very grateful for the opportunity you gave my grandson.
You scratch my back, I scratch yours.
If you do well, I do well.
-Thank you so much, Joaquín. -Thank you.
Can you cook these sardines and take them up to me later?
Hey, hon!
Here, put these on the grill for Joaquín. Hurry up.
No, don't worry.
I'll stop by.
Yeah. And tell him he owes us one.
Talk to you later.
Have you seen my son?
Ricardo's on the truck, about to leave. Around back.
Busy?
No.
Okay. What's up?
You tell me what's up.
-Me? -Yeah. We didn't see you yesterday.
Oh, yeah. It was late. I stayed home.
Are you going to your things?
Yeah. Every week, Dad.
Look, we have a big day tomorrow.
The shipment is arriving.
You've got to be on your A game. Don't let me down.
Okay?
CUSTOMS INSPECTIONS
Okay.
From over there.
Hurry or we won't make it.
One sec. Let me write this down.
-Twenty-four pieces? -No, 18.
-In each box? -There as well.
And in those and the pallets behind there?
These are the black ones.
Empty the last row.
-Damn. -Wow.
Nice, huh? These are nice.
Yeah, very nice.
They're all black, right?
Size 7.5… Yeah, these are the same.
-Should we open the other? -Yeah. Hand him number three.
That one?
Can you empty the third row, please?
Joaquín.
Take them out. What's up?
Néstor, you're head of customs.
Take care of your people. The details.
-Here. -They're expensive.
They're not stevedores. They're civil servants.
-They work for the state. -All the more reason.
Don't they have families?
Don't you think they'd like
to give their wives an expensive perfume they can't afford?
Or get their kids Neymar sneakers?
They're nice.
I don't think it's necessary.
Listen to me.
Experience is the best teacher.
They're really cool.
You can take a pair.
-Thanks, boss. -You're welcome.
Can I grab two boxes?
I have two kids.
They'll take them anyway.
The point is that they ask you. Out of respect.
Hurry up. We're late.
-Tonight's important. -I know.
The Frenchman and Borrás are coming. We'll discuss the shipment's arrival.
See you later, Joaquín.
Have a good one.
Do you have the Polaris's unloading plan?
The shipping company hasn't filed it.
Move them to bay one. Tell them they have five hours.
-We can't keep the Cartagena waiting. -Okay.
Tell them to get a move on. We have a crowded yard.
What's up, Rocío?
Hey, Dad.
How are you doing?
We have a bottleneck.
Two ships have been waiting for over 24 hours,
and I don't know what to tell them.
Tell them to talk to me.
What's going on over there?
We're having problems with crane two. It hasn't worked since last night.
If we don't get it fixed,
I'll have to start rerouting ships to another port.
What's going on here?
What's the problem?
The control system's failing.
Can't we disconnect it?
The crane's set to work with it.
-We can't disconnect it. -Solutions?
We can wait for the wind to die down. Then I can operate it manually.
No way.
I need it for tomorrow.
We'll have to change the console.
How long will that take?
If I get one today, two hours.
You sure?
-He says he'll have it ready for you. -My brother's a trusting man.
I'll get the part. Start breaking it all down.
Next time, let me know.
Come on, Luis. I need it today.
No. I'm missing some key electronic parts.
We are massively short on supplies.
Can't you get them somewhere else?
No. The other providers are in the same situation.
Try to make do with your other cranes.
Don't tell me what to do.
If you can't get this for me, I'll go work with someone else, okay?
-Yeah, but that's all I can offer you. -Great.
Jackass.
-What should I get you? -A beer.
Starting early today.
The boss's brother starts earlier, and you don't say a word.
-Hey, Paco! -What?
We're off today.
Crane two's still out of service.
I heard there are three ships anchored and a fourth is arriving soon.
It'll go to Tarragona or Marseille. I don't like its chances here.
You don't know Joaquín. I bet we end up working today.
Armless is a good hand, but not that good, girl.
What do you say? Are we working today?
We're working.
-Are you serious? -Do I look like I'm kidding?
Wow, Joaquín. You've got some nerve.
You show up in my office, bold as brass,
and ask me to disable one of my cranes to give you the part you need.
Think of it as a favor.
No.
No, this isn't a favor.
Look, all these years, I've helped you whenever I could,
but this goes against my business.
We both know you have machines to spare, given your current volumes.
In fact, you have a level-luffing crane you're not using.
I can lend you that one.
I need my gantry crane operational.
It's out of the question, Joaquín.
Are you sure?
Am I sure? What kind of question is that?
How long have we known each other, Molina?
-Too long. -Okay.
Then you should know you're better off with me as a friend than as an enemy.
What's your point?
You be the judge.
What's this being shoved up your ass?
Joaquín, please.
Please, stop the video.
We can work this out, but stop it.
I'm fond of your wife.
I think we can spare Mari Carmen the disappointment.
Listen to me.
You can take the part, but please delete that video.
You help me, I help you.
That's business, Molina.
How'd it go?
The way it had to.
You have two hours to change the part.
Because he couldn't be any dumber.
They caught him, of course. They took him--
Go ahead, laugh it up.
They dragged him to the kitchen, got him--
Hon!
The crane's up and running.
Get back to work.
Make me a coffee. Don't just stand there.
The shipment's about to arrive.
We'll prioritize the unloading plan.
I want no mistakes.
Everyone needs to stay alert, all right?
You reek of alcohol, Román.
-Where did you spend the night? -What's it to you?
You have to stop this. Get yourself a decent woman.
Leave me alone. It's my life.
Make sure your son shows up with the truck.
Do whatever you want, but no drinking on the job.
You're either 100% here, or you're out.
-It's up and running! -Is that clear?
Yeah.
Let's get to work!
Víctor!
-Okay. See you later. -Bye.
I'm so happy to see you.
-I couldn't believe you were working here. -Yeah.
I believe it now, of course.
Look at that hair.
Yeah.
You… look the same.
But with a bit more class, yeah?
Yeah. I can tell you're doing well.
I try.
Look at my girls. Come here!
Oh!
Look who it is.
Víctor!
Hi.
Hi, Rocío.
Crazy, right?
Yeah. We haven't seen each other since the wedding.
-Really? -I think so.
You might be right.
Who's this?
This is Víctor, a friend of Mom and Dad's.
-What's your name? -Sandra.
Pleased to meet you.
We have to go.
Let's go. We're running late.
Okay.
Let's grab a drink. Like in the old days.
Sure thing.
Good to see you.
Same here.
He's coming! Let's go.
Mr. Manchado!
Mr. Manchado, what do you think…?
Hello. Good evening.
Good evening.
Have you heard from your brother?
After the scene he made last year, I doubt he'll show up, Dad.
Punctuality is not his forte.
Please excuse the delay. These things tend to drag on.
Good to see you.
Likewise.
-How's the old man? -Good. He sends his regards.
Tell him I'll visit when this is over.
And that I owe him a bottle of cognac. I haven't forgotten. Javier.
Thank you for coming all this way.
Time is of the essence.
The cargo arrives tomorrow night.
On the Tampico.
The ship took an unusual route to avoid raising suspicion.
It crossed the Pacific and made port in India and China.
-We'll be ready, right? -Of course.
This time, our Mexican friends are coming even more loaded.
A lot of laundering to do.
-I can handle it. -I'm glad.
If Carfora trusts you, so I do I.
It'll be the day after tomorrow. Half of Europe is waiting.
The street corners are empty.
No problem.
A pleasure doing business with you.
A pleasure.
Can I talk to you for a second?
Alone.
Wait for me outside.
I heard you have a bottleneck at the port.
Several ships anchored,
delays in unloading…
Anything you want to tell me?
Have I ever made you wait?
The Tampico will unload without a hitch.
I hope so.
PACIFIC OCEAN
Don't mess with me. I already did it!
Come on. You're all too chicken.
Whose turn is it now?
-The boss! -The boss.
Boss!
Let's do it.
All right!
Tequila.
Hell yeah, boss!
Come on!
Let's do this!
That's how it's done!
Who else has the guts, motherfuckers? Who's next?
What's that?
What's up? What can you see?
Grab your guns and head out.
-Go! -Let's go, motherfuckers!
-Let's go, guys! -Come on.
Today I kneel before you,
asking for your protection
and care.
Make me…
aware of danger,
of my enemies,
and don't leave me lost
in the mediocrity of tears.
Ariel!
What the fuck, Lucía? What's going on?
Pirates.
What pirates?
We have to protect the czar's mail. Come on!
-Pirates? What are you talking about? -Hurry!
-What the hell? -Let's go!
-The shipment's in danger! -Lucía!
The czar's mail will arrive in Barcelona tomorrow.
Apparently, it took the opposite route so we wouldn't detect it.
Through the Pacific, with stopovers in China and India.
Ariel and Lucía, from the Pereira family, are guarding the drugs during the journey.
Four tons of cocaine paste hiding in Russian dolls.
Once processed, the street value is over 100 million euros.
We'll monitor all port exits.
It's essential you give us the number of the container.
-Can you get it? -Yes.
I can't guarantee they won't change it before the handover.
Then keep an eye out, Lieutenant.
We've come a long way to get here.
I'll do my best, Your Honor.
Catching the Pereira cartel and locating Massimo Carfora
would be the biggest blow to drug trafficking
Spain has seen in the last decade.
-They were mine, Lucía. -Focus, then!
Fuck that guy, kiddo.
Fuck that guy, bro.
Come on! Go through!
It's not over!
You got this!
I'll hold them off. You go around the back.
Go ahead!
That way.
Son of a bitch!
I'm gonna kill you, asshole!
Let me go, you son of a bitch!
Let her go!
Drop your guns, guys!
-Put the fucking guns down! -The boss said put them down!
Okay. Easy.
Surround this asshole! Let her go!
Hands off, asshole.
Let me go, motherfucker!
I'll kill you, you bastard.
I'm gonna fuck you up!
You owe me one.
48 HOURS UNTIL THE HANDOVER
Good evening, everybody.
The Consortium for Promotion and Business,
the oldest management association in Europe, founded in 1771,
wants to recognize, with the Martí de Salat Awards,
the work of companies and notable businesspeople
during the last year and throughout their careers.
We thank the city hall and council for their support,
and Regia Maris Restaurant
for hosting us the last few years.
The jury has decided to give this Entrepreneur of the Year Award
to a leading figure in the Maritime Consortium,
the director of Terminal A of the port of Barcelona for over 30 years.
A round of applause, please, for this year's winner,
Joaquín Manchado Salas.
Presenting the award, Marina Casals.
Thank you.
Miguel Rosillo, aka Miki, head of the Civil Guard at the port.
He's in on it.
I don't know how many in his unit may be involved,
but his most loyal men are for sure.
I suspected as much.
Manchado's scheme can't involve just stevedores and customs.
He needs the Civil Guard to get the drugs out of the port.
I know. I've seen it with my own eyes.
If we manage to intercept that delivery and catch them red-handed,
we'll end Joaquín Manchado's 30-year reign at the port of Barcelona.
Subtitle translation by: Soledad Etchemendy