19.9 tonnes of hashish seized from cargo ship Natalia off Fuerteventura
Spanish authorities boarded the Palau-flagged merchant ship Natalia 40 miles south-east of Fuerteventura on 8 August 2021 and found 19,876 kilograms of hashish hidden in a plaster cargo, arresting its 11 Syrian crew.
🇪🇸 40 miles south-east of Fuerteventura, Canary Islands · Spain
Two Customs Surveillance patrol boats, the Sacre and the Halcón, set out on the night of 7 August 2021 and boarded a merchant vessel in the early hours of 8 August about 40 miles south-east of Fuerteventura in international waters.[1]The ship, the 38-year-old 4,800-deadweight-ton Natalia sailing under the flag of Palau, was in poor condition with leaks and an engine-room fire risk, and officers worked to keep her afloat into the port of Las Palmas.[1][2]
The boarding was the culmination of Operation Natalia, a joint Tax Agency and National Police investigation with France’s DNRED customs unit into a vessel that had left Turkey in July, changed its name and reflagged from Togo to Palau.[1][2]A search on 9 August found 638 bales holding 19,876 kilograms of hashish concealed in a declared cargo of plaster, plus 26 kilograms of marijuana in the crew accommodation.[1][2]The eleven crew members, all Syrian nationals, were arrested and referred to the National High Court.[1][2]
Photos and video
Hashish recovered from the Natalia. Photo: Policía Nacional via The Maritime ExecutivePhoto details
Investigators suspected the vessel was heading for Morocco after leaving Turkey, but the reports confirm no destination for the hashish.
Officers separately found 26 kilograms of marijuana in the crew quarters, believed to be the crew's own smuggling, which is not counted in the hashish figure.
The reports say the crew would be brought before the National High Court; no court outcome was reported.
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.
