Spanish Drug Ring Busted: Pilots Trained to Smuggle Hashish by Air from Morocco

The civil guards began investigating this network after learning of the crash of a plane in Morocco in September 2019, piloted by a resident of Seville. In November 2019, the agents, who were closely monitoring the network’s activities, intercepted a plane from Morocco carrying 420 kilos of hashish and arrested the two crew members.

The members of the criminal organization continued their hashish trafficking and would have suffered at least two more plane crashes in the last two years, said El Mundo, specifying that the network has a fleet of 7 aircraft (two helicopters and 5 light aircraft) and a academy to train pilots as well as a group of mechanics.

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

The investigations also allowed the Civil Guard to discover that the network was also introducing hashish by sea. Last June, four members of this network were arrested and 750 kilos of hashish seized, as well as a vehicle used to load the drugs on the coasts of Huelva (south of the country).

The civil guards carried out 24 searches in Murcia, Toledo, Cáceres, Huelva and Seville, which allowed the seizure of 120 kilos of hashish, spare parts for the planes, three firearms, a marijuana plantation in Los Palacios (Seville) and 78,000 euros in cash. In total, 41 people were arrested and will be prosecuted for the alleged crimes of drug trafficking, illegal possession of weapons, smuggling, belonging to a criminal organization and falsification of public documents.