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The Tax Agency seizes a 'narco-boat' carrying 4,700 kilos of hashish in waters east of the Strait

The fight against drug trafficking

  • This is the largest amount of hashish seized by the Customs Surveillance Service in a single semi-rigid inflatable boat.
  • The three crew members of the 'drug boat', of Moroccan nationality, arrested
  • The boat, detected by the Customs Surveillance aerial means, has a power of 1,200 HP divided into four outboard motors

December 31, 2021 .- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency has intervened in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar a semi-rigid boat that was carrying more than 4,700 kilos of hashish, detaining, in turn, to its three crew members, of Moroccan nationality. The operation, deployed with naval means on the night of last Wednesday, has led to the largest seizure of hashish carried out by Customs Surveillance in a single 'drug boat' to date. Researchers attribute to this vessel a role as a mother boat, or supplier of other 'rubbers' that would introduce drugs into the national territory.

The operation begins at the moment when the Tax Agency's air control means detect, to the east of the Strait, a semi-rigid boat measuring 12 meters in length, motorized with four outboard motors of 300 HP each, and which was carrying a large quantity of packages, of the same type as those usually used to transport narcotic substances.

An air-naval operation is immediately set up and two Customs vessels based in Algeciras are sent to search for the target, which end up intercepting the semi-rigid boat by surprise at the moment when it was waiting to transfer the cargo to other smaller boats. .

Crew members without material space on the 'drug boat'

After verifying the large number of burlap bales that the 'narco-boat' was carrying and arresting its three occupants, the officials headed back to the Algeciras base, where the count of the hashish load shows the amount of 148 packages, with an approximate weight of 4,700 kilos.

Unlike other types of vessels, such as merchant vessels, fishing vessels or sailboats, whose intervention has sometimes led to seizures of hashish of even greater volume by the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, in the case of this operation it has Researchers were surprised by the size of the load for a single RIB (larger interventions have been made in the case of two or more 'rubbers' in a single operation), even taking into account its role as mother ship.

When the 'narco-boat' was intervened, Customs Surveillance officials were able to verify that the vessel lacked minimum habitability conditions. The crew of the semi-rigid boat found themselves without material space to move from their seats in the boat, as they found themselves literally surrounded by the burlap bundles that even exceeded the line of the inflatable floats.

The effects of the legal prohibition of 'drug boats'

The publication of Royal Decree-Law 16/2018, which considers this type of boat to be prohibited when they lack the corresponding authorization, has significantly affected the operations of drug trafficking organizations, which are trying to preserve their 'drug boats' to a greater extent than before. encounter an increasing shortage of boats of these characteristics.

This has led to an increase in logistical support from other organizations dedicated to supplying fuel and offering maintenance and repair to the mother boats, which to a greater extent than before wait on the high seas for days for the arrival of smaller boats that load the drugs for your stash on land.

Faced with this, the control work of the Customs Surveillance Service is allowing operations like the present one to be carried out, where intervention is carried out in the middle section of the drug distribution chain and, therefore, before the attempt occurs. to settle on the Spanish coasts.

The detainees, along with the drugs and other confiscated effects, have already been placed at the disposal of the competent judicial authority.

This operation is part of the control actions of maritime routes carried out by the Tax Agency through its Customs Department, which participates in the Special Security Plan for the Campo de Gibraltar.

Customs Supervision: Presentation of charges for smuggling and related offences 

Free telephone 900351378.

Email: denunciasvigilanciaaduanera@correo.aeat.es

Filming of operation (to download the video you must enter the following web address):

https://we.tl/t-0c6IGD1uGQ