Spanish police seize five drug launches

Spanish police seized five rigid-hulled inflatable launches used by drug traffickers to ship cannabis resin across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco to Spain.

Officers from the Policia Nacional discovered the vessels after chasing a suspect vehicle to a warehouse in Puente Mayorga, the small town adjacent to the refinery in the Campo de Gibraltar.

Inside the building they found five RHIBs each fitted with powerful engines, as well as 2,200 litres of petrol.

“The operation stems from constant surveillance on the infrastructure used by different organisations involved in drug trafficking in the area,” the Spanish police said in a statement.

“The value of all the material seized easily exceeds 1.5m euros and represents an important blow to the infrastructure and logistics of organisations involved in these activities.”

Working with the Guardia Civil and Spanish customs, the vessels were removed from the warehouse via the sea, given its direct access to the beach.

This is the latest law enforcement operations targeting the infrastructure of organised crime gangs in this area.

Earlier this week, police and Guardia Civil officers seized a van that had been converted into a makeshift petrol tanker to refuel RHIBs and also arrested a gang whose members stole vehicles for use by the drug gangs.