Strait of Gibraltar Remains Major Drug Trafficking Route Despite Crackdowns

The battles against trafficking, especially of drugs, have certainly been successful, but drugs continue to circulate on the coast. Drug traffickers smuggle more than 280 tons of drugs per month through the Strait of Gibraltar, accounting for 80% of the hashish consumed in Europe. In 2018, the Spanish state had launched a security plan called "Campo de Gibraltar" to counter this traffic. Nevertheless, the fight against trafficking is a veritable Lernaean Hydra.

A team from France 24 Reporters went to meet some of the residents who are involved in or fighting against trafficking on this Spanish coast. The first person they met was pilot Pedro Luis Bardon. To his credit, 30 years of chasing drug-laden boats in the strait. They then met Julio, a "organizer". This man in his sixties is at the head of a cocaine and hashish trafficking network based in Morocco. For him, even human beings have a price.

The reporting team met José Manuel, a young police retiree. His career boils down to the fight against drug trafficking. After his retirement, the one they call "chief" still roams the police corridors.