The Civil Guard dismantles a network that introduced hashish from Africa to Tenerife

Civil Guard agents during the arrest of members of a network that introduced hashish into Tenerife from Africa CIVIL GUARD (Europa Press)

The Civil Guard has dismantled a network of hashish trafficking that was dedicated to introducing this drug on the beaches of the Canary island of Tenerife from Africa and has arrested 27 people of Moroccan and Spanish origin, of which 20 have entered prison . The security forces have seized in three successive operations more than nine tons of hashish, 1.3 kilograms of cocaine, two inflatable boats, four outboard motors, three vehicles, 13 firearms, seven short weapons, five long weapons rifle type and a single shot handcrafted firearm, plus four encrypted telephones, approximately 24,000 euros in cash, six GPS for navigation, and documentation related to the illicit activity. "It is a particularly large structure," explained sources from the security forces.

This operation, known as

, dates back to mid-2020, as explained by the Civil Guard in a press release.

The agents then obtained the first information about the presence of a criminal organization based in Tenerife with sufficient capacity to introduce large amounts of hashish on the island.

More information

The lucrative drug business in a pandemic prison

Subsequent investigations revealed that the network "had formed a strong structure" with a logistical capacity that allowed it to carry out landings of more than 1,000 kilos of hashish on a monthly basis anywhere on the island's coast. The first operation took place in March 2021. On that occasion, two vans carrying 3,500 kilos of recently unloaded hashish were intervened on a beach in the municipality of San Miguel de Abona (south of Tenerife).

Two months later, the agents detected the preparations for an "imminent arrival" of a new consignment, which led to the establishment of surveillance services that detected the arrival at a beach in the municipality of Arico (southeast) of a boat carrying 1,800 kilos of hashish. In August of that same year, the organization tried to smuggle a cache of more than 2,000 kilos on a northern beach. "This attempt was again frustrated by the agents," explains the armed body, which details that on this occasion, in addition, "two firearms with their corresponding ammunition were intervened, which the organization intended to send to Morocco. ”. The following day a van driven "by the leader of the organization", a Spanish citizen, was intercepted and was to begin transporting 1,800 kilos of hashish.According to the Civil Guard, this person weighed five judicial requisitions for his search and entry into prison.

Other operations

The efforts to control the entry of drugs into the Canary Islands occupy a large part of the efforts of the security forces.

In July, the Civil Guard itself and the National Police intervened almost four tons of hashish in an operation that discovered a group of drug traffickers who, allegedly, were using the islands as a new route of entry into the country.

According to the security forces, this network imported the drug from Africa to Spain in order to distribute it throughout the Peninsula and Europe.

In September, a joint operation of the National Police, Civil Guard and Tax Agency allowed the intervention, 600 miles west of the Canary Islands, a sailboat that transported 1,200 kilos of cocaine from Latin America and destined for the Peninsula.

The intervention resulted in two detainees.

That same month, the armed body dismantled a criminal organization based on the islands and arrested four members of the Skaljari clan, a drug trafficking mafia originally from Montenegro, "known for its violence."

The criminal network had established a channel for the introduction of cocaine in the Canary Islands, which it collected in rented houses in luxury developments.