MADRID: A massive drug smuggling operation has been smashed in Murcia by officers of the Guardia Civil.
Nine people of Moroccan and Spanish nationality have been arrested and 1.2 tons of hashish, recently imported from Morocco, was seized from speed boats.
Officers were alerted to the possibility of smuggling when they became aware of the existence of a high speed boat known as a ‘planeadora’ (glider) – which is highly manoeuvrable and often used in fast transfer of drugs from Morocco – in one of the marinas of the Mar Menor in Murcia.
Being suspicious of the reason for ownership of this vessel, investigators discovered that a group of people had moved from Almeria and established ‘headquarters’ in a villa in La Manga del Mar Menor with access to the beach.
Officers found out that the gang intended to smuggle drugs into Spain during Semana Santa when the crooks assumed that many police officers would be on duty at the parades but they were actually under surveillance at all times.
They were tracked as the speed boat travelled from Morocco to Murcia and arrived at the villa where it was removed from the water and it was then that the officers pounced and simultaneously arrested five members of the group who were driving in a vehicle in La Manga del Mar Menor, two more members inside the villa, and the two crew members of the boat.
The nine members of the gang were residents of Almeria, Barcelona, Malaga and Murcia and, apart from the huge haul of hashish, officers also seized an expensive car and a number of different speed boats.
