Major Drug Trafficking Trial Begins in Spain, Alleged Kingpin Still at Large

The 26 members of the criminal network, including the "Messi of hashish", considered by the Spanish authorities as the main trafficker of this drug in the Strait of Gibraltar, are on trial since Monday. Accused of drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons, they will try to defend themselves during the two weeks of the trial.

Their leader, Abdellah El Haj Sadek Membri, on the run since 2019, will not participate in this trial. Wanted by the Spanish judicial authorities, he is said to have taken refuge in Morocco, from where he continues to carry out his criminal activities, reports Europa Sur. The prosecution has requested a total of 345 years in prison and 1.04 billion euros in fines for the 26 accused, who are accused of having transported at least nine shipments of hashish to Spain, particularly in the Campo de Gibraltar region, between February 2016 and January 2017.

"As the leader, the accused Abdellah Ell Haj Sadek el Membri - alias Messi - was responsible for negotiating with suppliers, with the people who transported the substance, for finding places that served as warehouses or nurseries, as well as for paying the members of the organization," can be read in the indictment presented by Macarena Arroyo, the anti-drug prosecutor in Algeciras.

Among the accused, 14 are Moroccans holding a Spanish identity card, two holding passports from other countries and two others considered undocumented. The remaining 8 have Spanish nationality. Depending on the degree of responsibility of each of them, the prosecution has requested fifteen years in prison for the five main accused, ten years in prison for four accused and 5 years in prison for the other seventeen, as well as a fine of 40 million euros per accused. The five accused prosecuted for illegal possession of weapons face a sentence of 10 years in prison.