12 to stand trial in Spain for building high-speed boats for hashish smuggling from Morocco

Twelve individuals are set to stand trial in Spain for their involvement in a criminal network that built high-speed drug boats used to smuggle hashish from Morocco to the Spanish coast, Spanish media reported on Thursday.

The organization, based in Arousa (Galicia), was dismantled in an operation led by the Pontevedra Civil Guard’s Anti-Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA), resulting in over 20 arrests. A court in Cambados has ordered oral proceedings against twelve suspects while dropping charges against two others.

The accused, currently free under precautionary measures, face varying prison sentences, with the prosecutor seeking up to seven years for some. The case, classified as smuggling prohibited vessels, will be tried in the Provincial Court of Pontevedra. One suspect also faces additional drug trafficking charges.

The network operated between January 2021 and April 2022, secretly manufacturing and distributing semi-rigid speedboats used to transport Moroccan hashish to Spain.