One Portuguese and three Spaniards were detained by the Spanish authorities, who intercepted a Portuguese-flagged fishing boat loaded with 5.4 tons of hashish near Isla Cristina, Huelva.
The action, which resulted in the arrest of the crew members, was carried out by the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, as part of a patrol in Spanish waters.
The operation of the ship was aborted just as the fishing crew was preparing to transfer the drugs to a speedboat, the Tax Agency announced today in a statement.
This operation against the international drug trafficking networks that operate off the coast of Huelva began on February 1, when customs surveillance aerial means observed, 15 miles from Isla Cristina, a pneumatic boat with powerful engines, which was still without lights towards the coast.
A “secret pursuit” of the objective followed, with air and naval units, and when the launch approached the fishing vessel and the “movement” of the crews began, the “Alcatraz” Customs Surveillance patrol intervened.
The packages were stacked in the basement of the fishing boat, with the name “Praia de Montegordo” and the Portuguese flag. The four people arrested are accused of a crime of smuggling and against public health, according to the EFE news agency.
The intercepted vessel was transferred to the port of Huelva, where an in-depth inspection was carried out, in which 150 seized bundles were identified, with a total weight of 5,400 kilos of hashish resin.
The drugs, the boat and the detainees were placed at the disposal of the Criminal Investigation Court number 4 of Ayamonte, with guard duties.
The investigation is still open and new arrests are not ruled out.
Source: TSF
