SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Jan 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Civil Guard, in a joint operation with the Tax Agency’s Customs Surveillance, seized on December 31 in Canary waters a total of 46 bales with 1,640 kilos of hashish that were thrown into the sea by the occupants of a boat when they were surrounded.
The action of the Civil Guard began after the information received through citizen collaboration, in which it was alerted of a possible suspicious boat that was very close to the coast of the island of Tenerife.
The Civil Guard activated various units of the Corps: Canary Islands Area Helicopter Unit (UHEL), Provincial Maritime Service, Groups of Specialists in Underwater Activities (GEAS), which with the support of a vessel from the Deputy Directorate of the Service of Customs Surveillance (DAVA), managed to intercept a Zodiac-type vessel about 15 miles from the island.
In order to locate the suspicious vessel, the Civil Guard helicopter immediately flew over the entire area and once it was able to spot it from the air, it coordinated with the vessels of the Provincial Civil Guard and GEAS Maritime Service to direct from the air its trajectory towards the suspicious vessel and thus be able to intercept it.
After several attempts to escape by the occupants of the boat, and once they were surrounded, they began to throw into the sea several of the bales of hashish that they were transporting.
Finally, the agents of the Civil Guard of the Maritime Service and GEAS managed to intercept them and proceed to arrest the three occupants, two men aged 32 and 36 and a minor under 16, all three of Moroccan nationality, as alleged perpetrators of a drug trafficking offense. Once taken into custody, the bales that had been thrown into the sea by the defendants could be located and retrieved from the sea.
The apprehension ended with 46 bundles containing a total of 1,640.26 kilos of hashish. The detainees have been placed at the disposal of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Investigative Court, along with the proceedings conducted by the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA) of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Civil Guard and DAVA staff.
