Two pleasure boats were seized off the coast of Huelva that were transporting 2,800 kilos of hashish

Operation of the Tax Agency, Civil Guard and National Police

• Seven people have been arrested and a total of 80 burlap bundles containing the narcotic substance were seized.
• In seven searches in various Huelva locations, vehicles, boats, jet skis and even long firearms and simulated weapons have been seized.

February 22, 2024.- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, the Civil Guard and the National Police have arrested seven people for belonging to a criminal group and drug trafficking that they introduced hashish in our country from Morocco through transhipments in pleasure boats.

These actions have been developed within the framework of the Special Security Plan for Campo de Gibraltar. The 'Ciprux-Obras' operation has investigated a criminal organization mainly based in Huelva and dedicated to the transportation and introduction into our country of important consignments of hashish from Morocco. To do this, they had a series of boats, both fishing and recreational, that operated from different ports located on the Huelva coast.

Throughout the investigation it was found that these people were in charge of the maintenance, custody and management of the vessels, with several industrial warehouses where they were stored to modify their structure, fundamentally with double bottoms or 'coves' in the hull to hide the drug.

Once modified, they were docked at different ports from where they operated with absolute normality, carrying out fishing tasks or recreational activities to give an image of legal activity.

During this investigation, it was learned that they could be in a position to transport a significant amount of hashish. To stop their trafficking, a large police force was established around the main people under investigation and on the vessels that had been previously identified.

These boats used to enter through the mouth of the Guadiana River and transship the drugs on the high seas.

Once one of them was located, the boat was boarded and inspected, detecting a double bottom in the hull that housed 40 burlap bales containing hashish, weighing approximately 1,400 kilos. In this action, the two crew members were arrested.

Shortly after, the second boat was found docked at the Ayamonte marina (Huelva) without anyone on board. After being inspected, another double bottom similar to the one found in the first warehouse was located with 40 more bales of hashish and also weighing 1.4 tons.

During the operation, the agents arrested five more people and searched seven private homes in the towns of Ayamonte, Isla Cristina and Aljaraque-Bellavista, in addition to a nautical company, an industrial warehouse and a storage room.

Seized items

As a result of the operation, 17 vehicles, 11 recreational boats, two fishing boats, two jet skis, more than 54,000 euros in cash, four large displacement engines, around twenty mobile phones, four GPS boxes and geolocation devices, four weapons were seized. rifles, two simulated weapons, three edged weapons, 11,500 cartridges, 74 high-end watches, five computers and computer equipment.

The investigation remains open and arrests of some other people linked to the dismantled criminal organization have not been ruled out.

Officials from the Central Narcotics Brigade - Sect.1 Group of the Civil Guard of Huelva and CGPJ-UDYCO Central.

The detainees and the proceedings carried out have been handed over to the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 2 of Ayamonte (Huelva).