Drug Traffickers Arrested In Santa Pola

In a joint operation by the Guardia Civil, National Police and the Tax Office, six suspected drug traffickers have been arrested and 1,400 kilograms of hashish seized, which they intended to introduce into Spain through the port at Santa Pola.

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The drugs were transported to the port to board a fishing boat, which had previously been brought in on another vessel. The drug dealer on board the boat had got into difficulty and was adrift in the sea, and so forced to call the emergency services for assistance, thus taken to the port, where he was arrested.

The investigation began in January when the existence of the gang had become known to the police, with the initial enquiries revealing that the dealers transported the drugs from Morocco to various locations along the coast of Valencia and Murcia.

The gang used rigid hull inflatable boats to which they had added powerful engines, on board which the drugs were carried before being transferred to fishing boats out at sea so as to avoid suspicion.

The investigators were able to identify all members of the group and determine the role each played in the organisation.

Having identified a number of fishing boats used in the transfer, officers put these under surveillance, and on the evening of Tuesday the 3^rd of March, the officers observed a shipment being transported from a boat and into a van at Santa Pola.

The van was followed and stopped by officers on the A-70 at El Campello, where a significant quantity of drugs were found, totalling 1,400 kilograms of hashish.

The detainees are residents of Santa Pola and Alicante, aged between 30 and 49 years of age. Two fishing boats and a rib boat were also seized, along with several GPS, satellite phones, a van and several mobile phones.