Major Spanish Drug Lord "El Pantoja" Faces Trial for Moroccan Hashish Trafficking

The Gibraltar anti-drug prosecutor, Macarena Arroyo, is asking the court to sentence "El Pantoja" and seventeen members of his network to 13 years in prison and a fine of twelve million euros. This is the first drug case to go to trial since the launch in 2018 of the Special Plan against drug trafficking in the Strait of Gibraltar, initiated by the Ministry of the Interior to combat the trafficking of hashish from Morocco to the Cádiz coast, reports El Estrecho Digital.

To read: Spanish Police Bust Major Hashish Trafficking Ring, Arrest 77 in Algeciras

Jesus Heredia, alias "El Pantoja", previously listed by the justice system for traffic offenses, will for the first time be brought to justice for his involvement in hashish trafficking, which he has been engaged in since his adolescence. According to police sources, Heredia was the right-hand man of Abdellah El Haj, alias "The Messi of hashish", and has become one of his successors while the latter, actively sought by the justice system, was on the run.

To read: Spanish Police Bust Major Moroccan Hashish Ring, Seize 6 Tons of Drugs

"El Pantoja" was arrested on May 24, 2020 while he was with his family in a restaurant in an upscale neighborhood of Chiclana de la Frontera. He is considered by the police as the drug baron in the Strait of Gibraltar at the time and who controlled almost all of the hashish traffic from Morocco to Cádiz. A month earlier, he had escaped an anti-drug operation during which 36 members of his network were arrested and 4.3 tons of hashish seized.

To read: US DEA and Spanish Police Bust Major Moroccan Hashish Ring in Algeciras Port

The defendant was released after paying a bail of 30,000 euros, but should appear in this trial which will last four days, according to legal sources. "El Pantoja" is involved in two other ongoing cases. On the one hand, he is accused of being the head of a hashish trafficking network using fishing boats for his activity, one of which sank on January 23, 2020 with its six crew members and 2,000 kilos of hashish. On the other hand, he is accused of money laundering.