3,600 kg hashish network in Andalusia broken up, 14 held
Spanish Customs and the Civil Guard broke up a hashish network that bought in Huelva, stored in Málaga and shipped from Seville to Europe, arresting 14 people. Officers seized 3,600 kg of hashish, more than 1.5 million euros in cash, three firearms and high-end vehicles after an inquiry running since September 2021.
Spain’s Customs Surveillance Service and the Civil Guard, working with
Europol, arrested 14 members of a hashishtrafficking network that bought
drugs in Huelva, stored them in Málaga and distributed them from Seville to
several European countries.[1]Twelve of the detainees were remanded in
custody for drug trafficking, membership of a criminal organisation and money
laundering.[1]
The inquiry began in September 2021 around Écija, Seville, the network’s
epicentre, with a second branch in Málaga province handling procurement in
Ayamonte, storage and transport to Écija.[1]In February 2022 officers
stopped a France-bound lorry in Granada carrying 950 kg hidden in its legal
cargo, and that October seized1,000 kg more from another lorry in La Carolina,
Jaén.[1]In January 2023 they seized two vans, one with about 600 kg on the
A-92 near Puebla de Cazalla and one with just over 900 kg in Pizarra,
Málaga.[1]
On 21 February, Écija court No. 2 authorised 16 house searches, netting more
than 1.5 million euros in cash, including 1,085,000 euros hidden in a
ringleader’s rented vehicle in Écija and 136,000 euros in a false-bottomed car
stopped in Málaga that morning, plus three firearms, high-end vehicles and
cover documentation.[1]In total the operation seized 3,600 kg of
hashish.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Only the Tax Agency's account was opened for this report, so the figures are not corroborated by a second source.
The report uses 15 March 2023, the announcement date; the final searches were carried out on 21 February.
How the 14 arrests break down across the lorry and van interceptions and the February searches was not stated.
The listed interceptions of 950, 1,000, about 600 and just over 900 kg account for most of the 3,600 kg total, and whether hashish was also seized in the February searches was not stated.
National Police arrested five men for drug trafficking in Palma in less than 24 hours, across four interventions in the Els Hostalets, Santa Catalina, and Son Gotleu neighbourhoods. Officers seized about 50 g of hashish, one marijuana joint, tusi, cocaine and ecstasy; no weight was given for the marijuana.
Local police in Melilla arrested a man after finding 501 grams of suspected hashish in the panniers of the electric bicycle he was riding on the pavement in Calle Santander. He was held in police cells to await a court appearance and the bicycle was seized; police gave no details about him.
The Guardia Civil, working with San Pedro del Pinatar's local police, arrested six people and shut a retail drug sales point in Lo Pagán, a coastal district of San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia. A search of the house near Villananitos beach found quantities of hashish alongside cocaine, heroin and MDA, and officers also seized cash, scales and bladed weapons.
Guardia Civil officers arrested 12 people at the Port of Ceuta on 10 November 2026 after sniffer dogs detected they had ingested hashish pellets before attempting to board a ferry to Algeciras. All 12 suspects were taken to the Hospital Universitario de Ceuta, where X-ray scans confirmed the presence of ingested drugs in their bodies.
