Section VI of the Cadiz Provincial Court in Ceuta sentenced two men to three years and six months in prison for carrying more than 43 kilos of hashish in a semi-rigid boat that sank off the pools area at El Sarchal.[1] Both men were brought from prison to the hearing, admitted the facts and accepted the requested penalties in a conformity agreement.[1] The court convicted them of a public-health drug offence in its aggravated form of notorious importance and extreme gravity because a boat was used.[1] Each man must also pay a 500,000-euro fine, with ten more days in prison in subsidiary personal liability if it goes unpaid.[2] They had been in pre-trial detention since 27 February, when the Guardia Civil operation detained them.[1] Because the term exceeds two years it cannot be suspended, so they returned to the prison where they were already held.[2] Before the November sentence, the prosecution had sought four years and six months in prison and a 1,182,003-euro fine for each man.[3] At the September preliminary hearing the two men did not admit involvement, so no agreement was reached and trial was set for the following months.[4]
At about 15:45 on 27 February they approached the pools area at El Sarchal in the semi-rigid boat carrying several sports bags of drugs.[1] Beside the rocks they handed several bundles to other people who had hurried down the steps to collect them and leave.[1] A Guardia Civil officer on maritime-coastal surveillance watched the handover and raised the alarm.[1] Land patrols, maritime units and the GEAS underwater unit then joined the interception.[1] The boat began taking on water, forcing both occupants to jump onto the rocks, where officers located and detained them.[1]
Officers later recovered two black bags holding 44 blocks and four tablets of hashish resin.[1] Laboratory analysis set the net weight at 43,520 grams of hashish with 44.3% THC, and prosecutors put its illicit-market value at 295,500 euros for clandestine distribution.[1] Prosecutors said the hashish was intended for clandestine distribution through delivery or sale to third parties.[1] The semi-rigid boat used for the run could not be seized because it sank during the operation.[1] The judgment became final after the agreement, which substantially reduced the prosecution’s initial request.[2]
