Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• During the operation, carried out in four phases, a total of 12 people were arrested and almost 5,000 kilos of hashish, six boats, five vehicles, two bulletproof vests, ammunition, a pistol and a weapon of war were seized.

• Thanks to the collaboration with the Portuguese authorities, four members of the criminal structure who had fled to Portugal have been arrested.

February 19, 2025.- Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with agents of the National Police, have dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to introducing hashish to the coasts of Huelva through recreational boats. Twelve people have been arrested and almost 5,000 kilos of hashish, six boats, five vehicles, two bulletproof vests, ammunition, a pistol and a long-barreled weapon have been seized. Thanks to the collaboration with the Portuguese authorities, four members of the criminal structure who had fled to Portugal have been arrested.

The investigation began in May 2024 when it became known that a criminal organisation, based in the province of Huelva, could be smuggling hashish onto the coast of Huelva. After the investigation began, the agents detected a discharge on the coast during the month of July last year, in which several bales of what could be hashish were unloaded from a boat and loaded into a van.

Two double-bottomed vessels and 1,530 kilos of hashish

With the investigation well underway, the first phase of the operation was carried out at the beginning of August, with the intervention of two recreational vessels that were hiding, in a double bottom, a total of 1,530 kilos of hashish that they intended to unload in an area close to the coast of the capital of Huelva.

3,360 kilos of hashish and a weapon of war

Following this arrest, Customs Surveillance and National Police investigators carried out inquiries and checks on several lines of investigation which, in this second phase, resulted in a new intervention in November 2024, in which an operation was carried out that allowed the interception of a van that, apparently, had just loaded a shipment on the coast. The two people who were in the van were arrested during the operation and a total of 3,360 kilos of hashish resin hidden in burlap and raffia bags, as well as a pistol and a war weapon with ammunition, were seized inside.

Last January, investigators carried out a third phase of the operation in which, during a macro-operation lasting several weeks, six members of the organisation were arrested and eight searches were carried out – six in homes and two in storage rooms. During the searches, four vessels, four vehicles – including a van that participated in the unloading in July 2024 –, two bulletproof vests, and 127 7.62 mm calibre cartridges were seized.

The investigations by the agents revealed that four of the main persons responsible for the investigation were missing, and the corresponding European arrest warrants were issued.

During this fourth phase of the investigation and thanks to the collaboration and cooperation of the Portuguese Public Security Police, the four members of the organisation who were on the run were arrested in the Portuguese town of Lagos at the beginning of February this year, thus completely dismantling the criminal structure.