New Europe
BY ELENA RALLI
Spanish police have exposed a major drug-smuggling network, confiscating more than 11 tons of hashish in warehouses located in the central Spanish province of Toledo and arresting 35 people. Authorities said that the drugs came from Morocco and were destined for distribution throughout Europe.
According to the police’s statement: “The dismantled organization controlled the entire chain of trafficking, from production topacking, as well as transport to Spain, storage, and distribution throughout Europe, especially in France, Belgium, England and the Netherlands.”
Officers also confiscated more than €100,000 in cash, 14 cars and dozens of mobile phones.
Traffickers had smuggled the hashish from Morocco to Spain on trucks with tanks rigged to hide the drugs.
The group used sophisticated technology, including a Global Positioning System (GPS), which they could use to pinpoint the location of the shipment and special designed reusable gas tanks, according to Jose Luis Conde, who heads the National Police’s Madrid division.
National Police Chief Ignacio Cosido identified the group members’ nationality as 31 Moroccans, three Spaniards and a Belgian woman.
According to the EU Drug Report that was released last November, the use of cannabis in Europe is stable.
