Spain and France seize 1,230 kilos of hashish in Mediterranean waters

Seven people were arrested and two boats were seized: a 10-metre-long semi-rigid boat with two 150-horsepower engines and a speedboat.

Maritime resources from the Spanish and French customs together with ships from the navies of both countries have seized 1,230 kilos of hashish during a joint air-naval operation in the Mediterranean on April 29 and 30. The hashish was seized in a semi-rigid boat with 1,200 kilos, boarded by the Petrel ship, and in a speedboat with 30 kilos, which threw about 1,800 kilos into the sea before being boarded by a French frigate. The first seizure was made by the Special Operations Vessel Petrel I, of the Customs Department of the Tax Agency. On the morning of April 30, they located and intervened in a rubber boat about 60 miles south of Cartagena. It was a 10-meter-long semi-rigid boat with two 150-horsepower engines and was manned by three undocumented persons. Inside, 40 bales with 1,200 kilos of hashish were found. The detained crew members and the seized drugs were taken by the Abanto Customs Surveillance patrol boat to Cartagena, where they were brought before the court. The second seizure, a speedboat with four people on board, was carried out by a French Navy frigate in the same area of the Mediterranean Sea during the night of April 29-30. 30 kilos of drugs were seized on the boat, but it is estimated that the crew threw 1,800 kilos of hashish into the sea before being arrested. The four crew members and the seized drugs have been placed at the disposal of the Marseille Judicial Police. This joint air-naval operation, aimed at suppressing maritime hashish trafficking, is part of the Selective Navigation Plan of the Customs and Excise Department, and includes strengthening air-naval surveillance in risk areas with the presence of Special Operations Customs Surveillance Vessels and cooperation with other national and international organizations.