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Rabat – Spanish authorities, working closely with Moroccan and French counterparts, have intercepted a massive shipment of hashish smuggled into Spain from Morocco, seizing more than 15 tons of the drug concealed in a truck loaded with watermelons.
The truck, which arrived in the port of AlmerÃa from Morocco, was stopped by Spain’s national police. Officers discovered 13.3 tons of hashish stashed between watermelon pallets and inside cleverly disguised fake sweet potatoes.
The operation, which also led to the arrest of five men, including the truck driver and others involved in surveillance and logistics, was the result of months of international cooperation. The suspects, accused of belonging to a criminal organization and drug trafficking, have been brought before a judge and placed in pretrial detention.
According to a statement from the Spanish police, the raid was coordinated with Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and France’s anti-narcotics office (OFAST). The investigation began in early June after OFAST alerted Spanish authorities to the activities of a Spanish-Moroccan criminal network trafficking large quantities of hashish into Europe.
Investigators soon determined that the group planned to use a semi-trailer truck to smuggle the drugs via AlmerÃa, exploiting the steady flow of agricultural shipments between Morocco and Spain to avoid detection.
Police eventually tracked the truck to a warehouse in an industrial area, where they uncovered dozens of packages of hashish hidden among watermelon pallets. They also found sacks resembling sweet potatoes, which turned out to be hollow containers designed to conceal additional drugs and evade inspection.
Spanish authorities hailed the operation as a successful example of cross-border cooperation against organized crime.
