Joint operations between the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard

• Two people have been arrested and two others have been identified, and 16 vehicles and two weapons have been seized.
• The operations, carried out by sea and land, are the result of the intensification of the work against smuggling and drug trafficking.

June 5, 2023.- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard have seized more than 2,600 kilos of hashish in two operations carried out in the province of Huelva. Two people were arrested as part of the operations, as well as 16 vehicles and two weapons seized.

The first operation began on April 19 with the detection by the Integrated External Surveillance System (SIVE) of a semi-rigid vessel, known as a 'narcolancha', entering the mouth of the Carreras River, in the province of Huelva.

A sports boat was brought alongside this 'narco-boat', which received the cargo from the semi-rigid boat and transported the merchandise to land for later transport in a van. The operation was monitored at all times by the agents, who intervened when the merchandise was already in a 'nursery' located on a farm near the marshes of the Pozo del Camino district.

The drug was seized at this property, weighing 1,353 kilos, as well as two loaded weapons, 16 vehicles and various documents. Following the seizure of the narcotic substance, investigators have identified two people

Second major apprehension

The second operation took place on May 24, when investigators detected the presence of a van suspected of transporting narcotic substances. In view of this circumstance, the vehicle was stopped, and its driver ignored the instructions and fled.

Following a chase through the Punta del Moral neighbourhood in Ayamonte (Huelva), the drug traffickers were forced to abandon the vehicle and its cargo and flee across the countryside through the marshland area of the town.

The result of this second operation has been the seizure of 39 bales of hashish resin with a total weight of 1,300 kilos, and the arrest of two people for a crime of smuggling and against public health. The investigation is still ongoing, so new arrests are not ruled out in the coming days.

Both cases are being handled by the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 5 of the Huelva town of Ayamonte, which is coordinating the judicial proceedings together with the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office of Huelva.

These operations are the result of the intensification of the work against smuggling and drug trafficking carried out by Customs Surveillance officers of the Tax Agency and agents of the Civil Guard on the coasts of Huelva.