MADRID: Spanish Police have dealt another blow to drug dealers by confiscating 13 high powered RIBS which were used for smuggling illegal substances from Morocco to Spain.
The 12-metre long boats were each equipped with at least two powerful engines, according to a media release by the National Police.
15 people, aged between 20 and 40, were also arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking offences, forgery of official documents and belonging to a criminal organisation. Their cases are now in the hands of La Línea courts. The operation took place in Campo de Gibraltar in the southern Spanish province of Cádiz.
“These police actions are part of the plan to combat drug trafficking and psychotropic substances as well as the dismantling of organised groups dedicated to transporting hashish from Morocco to the coast of Spain aboard powerful RIBs,” stated the release.
Officers said that due to the installation of barriers on the Guadarranque River last September, drug dealers are finding it more difficult to transport hashish to mainland Spain.
“This situation has been exploited by the National Police to detect new places used as drug jetties and identify active members of the organisations responsible for the custody of the vessels used for sea transport hashish,” said the police statement.
The month long operation involved agents from the Drug Unit and Organized Crime belonging to the Judicial Police Brigade, the Brigade of Public Safety and Operating Group Ports Brigade Aliens and Borders.
“Among the detainees are the figureheads of the organisations, which gave up their personal data to appear as holders of the assets of the surveyed organisations and other tasks performed custody of boats in industrial and local houses where they hid. Those arrested have been made available to the Courts of Instruction of the Linea de la Concepcion (Cadiz),” stated the release.
