The Tax Agency seizes 4,500 kilos of hashish in Murcia
New blow to drug trafficking. The operation involved aerial and naval resources from the Tax Agency. The operation is still ongoing and the Civil Guard is collaborating.
May 8, 2009. On the night of May 7, the Tax Agency seized more than 4,500 kilos of hashish that were on board a speedboat that was approaching to unload on the Murcian coast near Cabo de Palos. The operation was carried out thanks to the investigations of the Central Customs Surveillance Investigation Service and, thanks to the aerial observation service, it was completed when the vessels “Arao” and “Cormorán” proceeded to assault the suspicious vessel.
In total, some 4,500 kilos of hashish were seized in the Cal Blanque area, approximately where Cabo Palos begins; a very rugged area, with no road access, where a lot of personnel are needed to carry the bales out by hand. A 13-metre long inflatable boat with four 250 HP engines and two high-end vehicles has been seized; At the moment there are six foreign detainees.
The operation is still ongoing with the intervention of the Civil Guard (helicopter and ground patrols) so new arrests will take place in the next few hours.
The ship “Arao” is currently returning to its base in Alicante and the “Cormorán” to its base in Cartagena. This new arrest confirms the effectiveness of the focus on investigations into complex drug trafficking networks, which are complemented by money laundering investigations into the main drug trafficking networks in Spain.
The Tax Agency considers research to be essential in the fight against drug trafficking, and it is in this aspect that it has a very important impact with the focus on rapid operational response that complements the risk analysis, investigation and control of the transport of goods by different means.