Joint operation of the Tax Agency, National Police and the Portuguese Judicial Police

• 19 individuals arrested who used semi-rigid boats equipped with high-power engines to traffic drugs from the west coast of Morocco to the western area of Huelva and the Portuguese region of the Algarve
• A semi-rigid boat with two outboard motors, two pleasure boats, 88,625 euros in cash, three vehicles, two jet skis, two motorcycles, a large amount of media, including satellite phones, two beacons, have been seized. tracking and tracing and documentation in which the accounting is collected

November 18, 2017 .- The Tax Agency, together with the National Police and the Judicial Police of Portugal, have dismantled an organization of drug transporters dedicated to the trafficking of bales of hashish between Spain and Portugal. In this operation, more than four tons of hashish have been seized and 19 individuals have been arrested - 14 of them have been imprisoned - who used semi-rigid boats equipped with high-power engines to transport the drug from the west coast of Morocco to the western area of Huelva and the Portuguese region of Algarve.

The investigation began when officials detected the existence of a criminal organization that was dedicated to the large-scale transportation of hashish, for which they used semi-rigid boats equipped with high-power engines, between the west coast of Morocco to the vicinity of the Portuguese or Spanish coast in a few hours. The network was led by a Spaniard and had a perfectly organized structure, with hierarchy and specific distribution of tasks.

In August 2016, officials discovered that drug traffickers had a semi-rigid boat in the Vilamoura Marina (Portugal). From that moment on, the investigation was carried out jointly with the Faro Judicial Police, to try to identify and arrest all the members of this network.

1,979 kilos of hashish in Ayamonte

Months later, a first action was carried out in the Canela pipe area, in the Huelva town of Ayamonte, in which officials seized 1,979 kilograms of hashish, distributed in 61 bales, at the time they were anchored, after a transfer of the merchandise from the investigated vessel to two smaller boats occurred.

In the month of June, investigators learned that one of the organization's pilots had traveled to the town of Quarteira (Portugal) to carry out the necessary preparations on the boat for the purpose of carrying out a new transport of narcotic substances. . One of the procedures they carry out is a navigation test in the open sea and the report of the boat with a thousand liters of fuel, which makes investigators suspect that in a matter of hours a shipment of illicit merchandise will be carried out from Morocco to the coast of Huelva or the Portuguese Algarve. 

2,100 kilos of hashish and 7 arrested

Days later the boat leaves the Vilamoura Marina with two crew members. In coordination with the Faro Judicial Police, a device was carried out to locate the loaded vessel, for which they had the support of the National Unit to Combat Narcotic Substance Trafficking of the Judicial Police, the Coastal Control Unit of the GNR and the Portuguese Air Force. When the boat landed on a beach in the town of Sagres (Portugal), the agents detained seven people, of Portuguese origin, while they were storing 2,100 kilograms of hashish distributed in numerous bales, which had been unloaded from the boat moments before.

12 more arrested, including the leader

Finally, the head of the group is arrested, along with eleven other members. In total, the operation has resulted in the arrest of 19 people and the seizure of 4,079 kilos of hashish. In addition, a semi-rigid boat with two outboard motors, two pleasure boats, 88,625 euros in cash, three vehicles, two jet skis, two motorcycles, a large amount of media, including satellite phones, two tracking and tracing beacons and documentation in which the accounting is collected.

Customs Supervision: Filing complaints for smuggling and related crimes Toll-free 900351378. Email: denunciasvigilanciaaduanera@correo.aeat.es