A joint police operation between the Guardia Civil and the Policia Nacional bagged 2,869 kg of hashish in the town of Vélez Benaudalla.

The police operation also netted eleven individuals, all allegedly belonging to a criminal gang with its ‘headquarters’ in Málaga.

Those arrested were located in San Roque (Cádiz), Vélez de Benaudalla (Granada), Olula del Río (Almería) and Nerja & Torrox (Málaga), all of whom have been charged with drug trafficking, money laundering and belonging to a criminal organization.

The now defunct network distributed vast quantities of hashish from Morocco to Málaga in false floors of articulated lorries and large vans, according to the police.

After carrying out five property searches, the police operation also impounded 15 vehicles, vacuum-packing machines, a press for compacting the drug, scales, mobile phones, diverse documents and a distribution list of the ‘goods.’

The police operation, which was code named, Piraña-Furgonazo, was brought into being last December when police investigators had wind of an individual in Nerja who probably belonged to a drugs gang – something proven true some months later.

The gang stashed their goods in two warehouses in Mijas and Villanueva del Trabuco; both in the province of Málaga, from where the shipment was sent to France, Italy or Holland.

In fact, the French police had already intercepted a large lorry near Lyon with 1,323 kg of hashish hidden inside. They then tipped off the Moroccan authorities who intercepted another lorry with 1,150 kg on board.

Finally, and a little prior to the police moving in, the Spanish police intercepted a large van en route for Toulouse on the A-44 near Casabermeja (Málaga) which was transporting eleven packets of hashish, weighing a total of 387 kg.

(News: Velez Benaudalla, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)