Joint operation between the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard

• The person in charge of monitoring and guarding the merchandise has been arrested
• Investigators had detected the prior unloading of the drug from a 'narco-boat' to several all-terrain vehicles and activated a tracking device to locate the storage location of the merchandise.

November 10, 2021.- Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, in a joint operation, have seized 113 bales of hashish with a total weight of more than 3,500 kilos that were hidden inside a garage located in the Punta del Moral neighborhood in Ayamonte (Huelva).

The events took place within the framework of a control operation on the Huelva coast, carried out by Customs Surveillance officials and the OCON SUR unit of the Civil Guard, in anticipation of an increase in the number of smuggling vessels that could attempt to introduce significant quantities of hashish into the Huelva coast.

The operation began when, through technical means of both bodies, the presence of a semi-rigid vessel was detected that unloaded a significant amount of packages onto several all-terrain vehicles in the area of the Canela canal (Ayamonte).

At that time, a tracking device was activated by ground units of both police forces, which allowed them to identify a garage, located in the Punta del Moral neighborhood, where the previously hidden drugs could presumably be found. Once the suspicious garage was located, it was opened, since the garage door was not completely closed and its interior was visible.

When the occupants of the building noticed the police presence, they fled by jumping over the roof to another neighbouring building, leaving only one person inside, who told the acting officers that he was the 'guard' or 'watchman' of the seized merchandise. The rest of the individuals fled without being arrested.

After inspecting the interior of the garage, it was possible to verify the existence of 113 bales of burlap and raffia containing nearly 3,600 kilos of hashish. In light of these circumstances, the person in charge of monitoring and guarding the property was arrested as the alleged perpetrator of a crime of smuggling and against public health in its variant of drug trafficking.

The Court of First Instance and Instruction of Ayamonte is on duty and has ordered the detainee to be sent to prison.

Investigators are continuing their efforts to identify the rest of the people involved in the drug shipment, and new arrests are not ruled out in the coming days.