The Guardia Civil intercepted a drugs shipment aboard a lorry from Morocco containing over 32 tonnes of hashish – this is the largest amount of drugs ever seized in one bust on dry land.

The interception took place in Algeciras Port (Cádiz) – the busiest  in Andalucia. The lorry was to take the drugs – with a street value of 50m euros – to Perpignan, just over the French border.

The 32,376 kilos of hashish resin had been hidden amongst a cargo of melons. The police operation, by the way, was aptly named Operación Melonar. The Moroccan lorry driver will no doubt be spending a lot of time behind bars, owing to the sheer quantity of illegal drugs involved.

There was a larger bust in 1996, but this was on board a Panamanian ship just off Marin (Galicia), which bagged 36 tonnes and 17 arrests

(News: Algeciras, Cadiz, Andalucia)