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

The operation to dismantle the drug trafficking organization led by Abdellah El Haj, known as the "Messi of hashish", actively sought by the Spanish justice system, resulted in the arrest of 77 people in Algeciras and the seizure of 15,000 euros in cash and two firearms, reports El Cierre Digital. This network specializes in the trafficking of hashish from the northern coast of Morocco to the Bay of Algeciras. The drugs, transported by boat, are then unloaded into stolen cars and transported to warehouses. In total, eight tons of Moroccan hashish and 22 stolen vehicles have been seized since the start of this operation launched in December 2020.

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The second network dismantled by the Civil Guard and the National Police is one of the most active in northern Spain. It would be led by a historical drug trafficker who maintained close contacts with the "Charlines clan", specialized in the distribution of cocaine in Castile and León, Madrid and the Basque Country. Eight people were arrested and a significant quantity of drugs including 300 kilos of hashish, 57 kilos of cocaine and 50 kilos of marijuana were seized as part of this operation.

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Abdellah El Haj, known as the "Messi of hashish", has been actively sought by the Spanish justice system since 2019. This 38-year-old Moroccan is a drug baron in the Gibraltar camp, a traffic he started at the age of 14 upon his arrival in Algeciras from Tangier. After spending a year in prison in 2015, he returned to Morocco where he is said to have set up a money laundering network for the proceeds of his drug trafficking to Spain, which he continued to organize from Morocco.

Abdellah El Haj then returned to Spain, a country he fled again to avoid prison after six of his men were arrested. From Morocco, he negotiated his return to Spain with prosecutor Juan Cisneros, who ordered his provisional release against the payment of 80,000 euros bail, pending the opening of his three trials. Meanwhile, the "Messi of hashish", hidden in Tangier according to Spanish police sources, continues his drug trafficking.