Drug Trafficking Surge in Gibraltar Strait Despite Police Efforts, Official Says

Contrary to the Attorney General of the State who, in his 2023 report, warned of a drop in police pressure in Andalusia after the dismantling of this unit, Lorenzo d’El Rio stated that there has been no drop in police pressure in this region.

"In the meetings we have had with all the police officials, they have told me that this is not exactly the case, that it has not happened, because on several occasions, there has also been an increase in personnel," he said in an interview on the Canal Sur television channel, adding: "A huge movement of drug mafias" has been detected in the Campo de Gibraltar, in the province of Cádiz, which requires being "permanently in the area".

Del Río also spoke about the trial of the 26 members of the hashish trafficking network led by Abdellah Ell Haj Sadek el Membri, alias "Messi of hashish", which opened this Monday, recalling that the alleged drug baron would still be a fugitive in Morocco after fleeing Spain.

In many cases, the accused end up "accepting and acknowledging the facts," which leads to a "compliance conviction," informed the President of the TSJA, who expressed his concern about the slowness of justice in the handling of certain cases related to drug trafficking.