Six tonnes of hashish seized in Algarve, two Britons arrested
Portuguese police seized more than six tonnes of Moroccan hashish in the Algarve in September 2010, stopping a truck with three tonnes and finding as much again elsewhere. Two British citizens aged 38 and 40 were arrested after a year-long investigation into a British-led ring.
Detectives with a Portuguese special drug unit found more than 6.6 tons (6 metric
tons) of Moroccan hashish during an operation in southeastern Portugal on the weekend
of 4–5 September 2010.[1]Armed officers stopped a truck carrying just over three
tonnes of hashish and found a similar amount at a different location.[1][2]
Two British citizens, aged 38 and 40, were arrested on suspicion of belonging to an
international trafficking ring and remanded in custody by a magistrate; their
identities were not published.[1]The operation followed a year-long investigation
into a suspected British-led ring based in the Algarve, and police said an
international investigation was continuing.[1][2]
Photos and video
Seized hashish bars displayed beside a framed police crest.Photo details
Judicial police arrested a 38-year-old man in the municipality of Olhão after finding about 100 bales of hashish, roughly 4.5 tonnes, hidden in a stolen goods van on a rural property. Police suspect the drug reached the site by sea through the channels of the Ria Formosa, and the man was due before a judge to decide preventive measures.
Four foreign nationals aged 16 to 43 were arrested at Porto das Barcas, São Teotónio, after police intercepted about 1.1 tonnes of hashish pollen moved by fast boat. The joint PJ-GNR Operation Barcas also seized a car with false plates, surveillance cameras and communications gear in house searches.
On 26 October 2026 the Northern Directorate of the Polícia Judiciária arrested a 38-year-old man with no record at a warehouse in Vila Nova de Famalicão and seized about 100 kg of hashish, a large-calibre pistol, a ballistic vest and 16,000 euros. The case began with two postal parcels of cannabis resin from northern Europe.
Portugal's PSP detained seven people and seized 5.8 tonnes of hashish, nine firearms, 580,000 euros in cash and eight boats in an operation around greater Lisbon. A Lisbon court ordered all seven held in preventive detention on 20 October 2025.
