Officers from the Guardia Civil, in a joint operation with the National Police, have seized almost 5,000 kilograms of hashish arranged in a total of 126 bales just as they were being unloaded in the Alicante port of Santa Pola. Four people have been arrested for their alleged involvement, three of whom were arrested red-handed.
The investigation began thanks to the constant exchange of information in the fight against drug trafficking, the result of which was learned of the possible arrival on the Alicante coast of a boat with a large amount of hashish from the African continent.
The information received was confirmed when the agents sighted a “GO FAST” type vessel with four engines sailing at a speed of 52 knots and which was apparently loaded with bales, which led to the establishment of a joint surveillance device between the Guardia Civil and the National Police in the area of the Santa Pola marina in order to cover all accesses to detect possible drug unloading movements.
While the agents were in the area, they observed a van with its rear doors open and leaning into a recreational boat, where various people were unloading the boat and loading the van. When the agents approached, all of them tried to flee, three of them being arrested. One of the detainees revealed the existence of a second van prepared to load the rest of the drug, so the agents proceed to seize it.
A total of 74 bales of hashish of about 38 kilograms each were found in the back of the van they used to unload the drugs. In that same vehicle, the agents also found a bandolier with documentation of a fourth person who was identified as one of those who fled. The following day, this fourth individual appeared at the Guardia Civil headquarters in a town in Castellón, and the agents arrested him for an alleged crime against public health.
In relation to the ship from which the bales of hashish were being unloaded, it is a British-flagged yacht-type recreational vessel that remained in custody until the corresponding entry and search authorisation was granted. The agents proceeded to intervene inside a total of 52 bundles (two on the deck, three on the bottom and 47 in the rooms), four high-end mobile phones, a satellite phone, two sets of keys and documentation.
