2,000 kg of hashish seized after five-hour chase off Cartagena
A police helicopter spotted a narcolancha 80 miles off Cartagena and a Tax Agency patrol boat chased it for five hours over 100 nautical miles as the crew threw 66 bales overboard. Officers recovered 2,000 kg of hashish and arrested all five crew; the load was bound from Morocco for Valencia.
A National Police helicopter spotted the 14-metre narcolancha, fitted with two 300 hp engines, sailing about 80 miles off Cartagena with bales of drugs visible on board.[1][2]A Tax Agency Customs Surveillance patrol boat gave chase for more than five hours over 100 nautical miles as the five crew threw the bales overboard to get rid of them.[1][3][2]The helicopter crew filmed masked smugglers photographing and waving at the officers during the pursuit.[2]
Boarded and seized
Joint action on the high seas recovered the jettisoned bales and boarded the speedboat, arresting all five occupants.[1]Officers seized 66 bales totalling 2,000 kilos of hashish, plus the boat, satellite phones and computer equipment.[1][3][2]Police said the gang had picked the load up in Morocco and was heading for the beaches of Valencia to unload it.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
The Tax Agency said only that the chase took place "last week" before its 28 November announcement, so 21 November is an approximation.
The Independent describes the haul once as marijuana, but the Tax Agency and the rest of that article identify it as hashish, which this report uses.
The Tax Agency release links police helicopter footage of the chase, but the download link has expired and no durable direct video address could be recovered.
Guardia Civil officers in Segovia dismantled a clandestine marijuana plantation hidden in a greenhouse near El Espinar after neighbours reported a strong smell of cannabis. Two local residents were placed under investigation for alleged drug-trafficking cultivation, and officers seized 8.05 kg of plant material.
The Guardia Civil investigated a man in Aguilar de la Frontera, Córdoba, after a neighbour reported being threatened with a short firearm; he handed over an air pistol. Officers then found eight cannabis plants, about 1.60 metres tall, grown inside his home, with buds weighing 920 grams, and put the file before a court.
Guardia Civil officers intercepted a parcel holding 15.9 kilos of hashish resin at a transport company near Asturias airport, then arrested the 37-year-old Seville man who flew in to collect it in a simulated delivery. A judge sent him to prison on 6 November 2026.
Mossos d'Esquadra found a fully equipped forest camp in Figuerola del Camp holding more than 1,000 kilos of marijuana buds ready for sale. No arrests were reported and the investigation to identify those behind the site remains open.
