Talking of aircraft, the chap who flew hashish in from Morocco via Motril in a helicopter has been found guilty of drug smuggling and being in possession of illegal substances.

A law court in Almeria has sentenced two residents of Sant Cugat de Valles and Mollet del Valles (Barcelona) to a total of eight years, four months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay four fines totalling 700,000 euros.

The incident occurred in 2009 when the villains were rumbled by Guardía Civil in Motril, although they weren’t finally arrested until they landed on waste ground in Dalia (Almeria). They had set off from Castellon on the 8th of June and headed off to Morocco, where they landed in Wad Lan, they then loaded 11 parcels of hashish. This outward flight was detected by the Spanish military and roused suspicion because there had been no flight plan submitted. The Guardía Civil in Malaga were alerted and a corps helicopter set off to intercept the returning machine, just off the coast of Motril, and then followed it to Almería.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)