Operation of the Tax Agency, National Police and Civil Guard

• The operation ended with the arrest of two people in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz) and the seizure of 172 kilos of hashish
• One of those arrested was making a sea voyage by sailboat to the Moroccan coast, where he loaded the narcotic substance that he hid in the cabins and, once back and in territorial waters, requested maritime assistance for help after feigning a breakdown or accident.
• Once in Spain, they transported the drugs in small batches to a storage room that was used as a nursery while waiting to be transported out of the country.

February 10, 2022.- Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with the Civil Guard and the National Police, with the international collaboration of the Judicial Police of Portugal, have seized 172 kilos of hashish in a storage room in Cádiz that had been brought into Spain in the cabin of a sailboat. The operation, part of the Southern Plan and the Special Security Plan for Campo de Gibraltar aimed at combating drug trafficking in Campo de Gibraltar, has ended with the arrest of two people in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz).

To introduce the drugs, one of those arrested made a sea crossing by sailboat to the Moroccan coast, where he loaded the narcotic substance that he hid in the cabins; Once in territorial waters, it requested maritime assistance for rescue, feigning a breakdown or accident, in order to enter port under tow. Once in Spain, they transported the drugs in small batches to a storage room in the Cadiz municipality, which they used as a storage facility while waiting to transport the narcotic out of the country.

The investigation began in the summer of 2021 when agents detected a sailboat and several individuals, with a history of drug trafficking, making suspicious movements compatible with drug-related activities.

In June 2021, the main suspect – and owner of the boat – docked at the Barbate marina after having suffered an alleged attack by killer whales while crossing the Strait of Gibraltar. The incident led to a change of vessel, but did not, however, divert the focus of the investigation.

Following several inquiries, investigators learned of the existence of regular trips by the main suspect to Lisbon, which is why they requested the collaboration of the Portuguese Judicial Police. As a result, they set up a device made up of Customs Surveillance officials and agents from the National Police and Civil Guard, which made it possible to detect a meeting between the Spanish suspect and a Portuguese citizen. Portuguese Judicial Police officers identified this person, known for his numerous criminal records related to drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons.

Investigators were able to document several meetings that allowed them to assign the Portuguese target the role of owner of the narcotic substance and the person who financed all the operations necessary to complete the drug trafficking; Meanwhile, the Spanish citizen was the one who sailed to a point in international waters, where the narcotic was loaded, returning to his base in a marina in the area.

A storage room as a drug depot

As a result of the actions and monitoring carried out jointly and in coordination between the Tax Agency, the National Police and the Civil Guard, it was discovered that, after returning from a voyage, once again 'rough', in which they had to enter port under tow, the suspects were going to move a significant amount of cargo between a storage room, which served as a nursery, and the neighbouring country.

For all this and after having evidence that they were transporting the drugs to the controlled storage room, they were arrested and the corresponding entry and search warrants were requested from the judicial authority, which allowed the seizure of 160 brick-shaped packages of hashish, which later weighed 172 kilos, more than 63,000 euros in cash hidden in a safe, mobile phones, a vehicle and a laptop, and numerous documents that showed the existence of these illegal operations since 2016, with a plan designed specifically to introduce narcotic substances into Europe through the use of sailing vessels.