Spanish police find huge stash of Moroccan drugs hidden in oranges

Spanish authorities continue to combat drugs trafficking from Morocco as a huge drug bust finds 1579kg of hashish disguised in a truck full of oranges.

According to Yabiladi plus agencies, reported on August 21^st, the Spanish officers were monitoring the truck when they noticed a small car trailing it. The driver and passenger in the car reportedly appeared apprehensive, carrying out counter-surveillance manoeuvres, a common strategy criminal networks employ to keep tabs on their shipments.

The police moved in to intercept the two vehicles, and while the small car escaped, the authorities managed to apprehend the truck at a highway exit.

When the Spanish officers unveiled the contents of the truck, they found the ingenious concealment, boxes of orange-coloured plastic balls, resembling fruit, filled with drugs. The idea was to bypass highway inspection points but were luckily stopped by officers just in time.

Both the driver of the truck and his assistant were arrested on the scene, currently residing in pre-trial detention after being presented to the judiciary. Authorities are still on the look out for the inhabitants of the small car, aiming to dismantle the broader criminal network.

The flow of drugs from Morocco to Spain is a serious struggle law enforcement from both countries have been tackling for a long time. As Maghrebi reported, drug trafficking has reached almost unbelievable limits, with authorities uncovering a 50 metre long, 12-metre-deep smuggling tunnel spanning from Morocco to Spain.

There have also been major drug busts in Morocco itself, hashish seemingly being the main type of drug moved through the country. Forces of the Royal Gendarmerie recently uncovered an attempt to smuggle 4 tonnes of cannabis out of Morocco, intended for large scale distribution across the Atlantic coastline.

Despite authorities’ attempts at quelling this persistent issue, the drugs still flow at a concerning rate.

Yabiladi, Maghrebi.org