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Rabat – The Spanish customs surveillance services have seized a boat carrying over 4.7 tonnes of cannabis in the waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar, local media reported.
According to the Spanish news outlet Diario Area, three crew members of the seized ship, who were all Moroccan nationals, were arrested during the operation.
Spanish authorities intercepted the boat while it was waiting to transfer the cargo to other smaller boats.
The arrest operation began after the authorities spotted a 12 meters-long boat equipped with four outboard engines of 300 HP that each carried a large number of packages, similar to those used to transport narcotic substances.
The operation, deployed with naval aviation last week, led the customs authorities to seize large quantities of cannabis. Further investigations established that the boat was carrying the drugs to Spain.
Customs services stressed that the boat “did not have the minimum conditions of habitability,” adding that the arrested smugglers had no space in where to move and were surrounded by bundles that exceeded the edges of the boat. The smugglers were taken to the judicial authority.
In December 2021, Spanish Civil Guards arrested a Moroccan crime boss of cannabis resin and cocaine smuggling alongside 16 other members of an international criminal network.
The operation led to the seizure of around one million euros in cash, 10 high-end vehicles, a boat, watches, and jewelry worth over three million euros.
Two months prior, in October 2021, Security services in Morocco’s Tangier Med Port aborted an international drug trafficking operation and seized over 6,300 narcotic medical pills the traffickers were attempting to traffic to Morocco from Spain.
Read Also: Morocco’s Royal Navy Aborts Drug Trafficking Operation in Tangier
