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Spain’s Civil Guard announced on Saturday the seizure of nearly 4.8 tonnes of hashish in an operation carried out in coordination with Morocco’s Royal Gendarmerie in the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The operation was launched after a semi-rigid go-fast boat was detected traveling at high speed and suspected of carrying a large shipment of drugs, the Civil Guard said in a statement.
Spanish maritime, land, and air assets were deployed to track the vessel. During the chase, the traffickers began dumping part of their cargo into the sea in an attempt to lighten the boat and increase its speed.
In the first stage of the operation, 32 bales weighing around 1,200 kilograms were located and recovered. Under pressure from Spanish units, the boat continued its flight toward waters near Morocco, triggering cooperation mechanisms between the Civil Guard and Morocco’s Royal Gendarmerie.
The swift deployment of Moroccan maritime resources helped maintain pressure on the vessel and limit its chances of escape. The coordinated action forced the traffickers to abandon the rest of their cargo. Moroccan maritime authorities recovered a further 89 bales, with an estimated weight of 3,577 kilograms.
In total, 121 bales of hashish, amounting to approximately 4,777 kilograms, were seized during the operation. The Civil Guard stressed that coordination between the two countries’ services had prevented the shipment from reaching its destination, underscoring the importance of bilateral cooperation in the fight against criminal networks operating on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar.
