Skip to main content

The Tax Agency intercepts a merchant ship with 18 tons of hashish to the south of Almería

Operation “Mar de fondo”

 

  • The seven crew members of the merchant vessel, all of them Syrian nationals, arrested
  • This is the seventh arrest made by Customs Surveillance on the eastern Mediterranean route since June 2013.

 

April 21, 2014.- The Tax Agency has intercepted at dawn last Saturday, in the waters of Alborán Island, southwest of Almería, a merchant ship with a flag of convenience that It was transporting nearly 18 tons of hashish. Its seven crew members, all of them Syrian nationals, have been arrested.

The operation, called 'Sea of Bottom', began when air-naval surveillance means from the Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency detected a merchant ship that had loaded merchandise in Casablanca and that presented a certain risk pattern.

Once the appropriate air-naval device was established, two Customs Surveillance patrol vessels headed to the area of Spanish jurisdiction to intercept the ship. During the inspection visit, a maneuver by the crew to sink the ship was detected, so, given this risk, its crew members were asked to head to Almería, where a large number of bales of hashish were discovered, in an amount that could approach 18,000 kilos, and the crew was arrested.

 

Eastern Mediterranean route

With this operation, since last June, there have been seven seizures of large quantities of hashish carried out by Customs on the 'eastern Mediterranean route', with a balance of more than 90 tons of drugs seized. Fundamental to this has been the implementation of analysis and control devices on the Mediterranean trade route by the authorities of France, Italy and Spain, which have led to the interception of 12 ships carrying large loads of hashish.

This new operation confirms the importance of this new route opened for hashish trafficking. In the last twelve months, the authorities of Italy, France and Spain have seized the ships 'Adam', 'Gold Star', 'Luna-S', 'Moon Light', 'Avenir de Safi II', an unnamed Egyptian fishing vessel, 'Berk Kaptan', 'At the Will of God', 'Mayak', two more fishing vessels in Italy and, now, the merchant vessel intercepted in operation 'Sea Bottom'.

In order to control this new hashish trafficking route that could be diverted to our country, the Customs and Excise Department of the Tax Agency has established intensive and permanent surveillance over the area, evaluating the risk of maritime traffic of goods and services. intensifying international collaboration.

As in its six previous actions, the arrest of the merchant ship in Operation 'Mar de Fondo' has been the result of this strategy. Drug trafficking organizations are agile and flexible, adapting quickly to new scenarios. Researchers suspect that this route would be used by organizations located in North African countries. They would transport significant quantities of hashish on merchant or fishing vessels, commercial vessels that would carry out legal transport and, upon departure, with a brief technical stop, they receive significant quantities of hashish for transfer to the easternmost countries of the Mediterranean.

These boats can also be used as mother ships to transship the hashish to other smaller vessels, which would deliver them directly to the Community, Spanish, French or Italian coast.

 

Customs Supervision: Filing complaints for smuggling and related crimes

Telephone 900351378. Email: va.adu@aeat.es