SAN PEDRO DEL PINATAR
Officials of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency in Murcia have seized 4,360 kilos of hashish in the port of the municipality of San Pedro del Pinatar, informed sources of this institution in a statement.
The investigators, who had the suspects under surveillance, took advantage of the moment when they were transferring the drugs from a fishing boat to a refrigerated lorry to seize them and arrest three traffickers, two Spaniards and a Moroccan.
The operation, called ‘Racel’, has its origin in a series of actions initiated by the Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency in 2020, when they began to investigate different people who could form part of a smuggling organisation.
According to the investigations, this organisation was preparing to smuggle a significant amount of hashish by taking advantage of the fishing trips of a fishing boat based in the port of San Pedro del Pinatar.
During these months, Customs Surveillance officers in Murcia investigated both the people who could form this criminal organisation and the boats that could be used.
SURVEILLANCE OPERATION
Finally, on the afternoon of 6 October, the investigators observed how one of the persons under investigation hid a refrigerated lorry belonging to him in the vicinity of the fishing port, a very discreet vehicle for taking drugs out of a port area.
At the same time, one of the vessels under investigation set sail at the same time as other fishing vessels of the same characteristics, but in this case without carrying fishing gear.
In view of these facts, the investigators organised a surveillance and control operation awaiting the return of the fishing vessel, which took place in the same port a few hours later.
At the same time as the fishing vessel was approaching its mooring point, the refrigerated lorry was approaching it. As soon as it docked, from the deck of the fishing boat to the lorry, a series of bundles, usually used to transport hashish resin, began to be transferred.
At that moment, the Customs Surveillance agents intervened. After identifying themselves and verifying that a substance that appeared to be hashish was indeed being unloaded, they proceeded to arrest the three people involved in the unloading and seized the goods.
Subsequently, after the complete unloading of the drugs, it was found that they were 130 bundles, with a total weight of 4,360 kilos of hashish.
The police proceedings, the detainees, the drugs, the fishing boat and the refrigerated lorry will be handed over to the Juzgado de Instrucción number 4 of San Javier in the next few hours. Investigations are still ongoing and further arrests are not ruled out.