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Andalucía's anti-drugs push widens after Isla Mayor shoot-out
Police confirm no arrests yet in Isla Mayor, as new operations in Cádiz and Almería highlight the scale of trafficking across southern Spain
Andalucía’s ongoing fight against drug trafficking shows no signs of slowing, with major police operations, court rulings, and coastal seizures taking place across the region in recent days.In Isla Mayor (Seville), Deputy Government Delegate Francisco Toscano confirmed on Tuesday that the anti-drug operation launched last weekend remains active and that no arrests have been made so far.
The raid resulted in the seizure of more than four tonnes of hashish and left a Guardia Civil officer seriously injured after a shoot-out. Toscano thanked the security forces and the local council for their “firmness and commitment” and said the Campo de Gibraltar Special Plan has bolstered resources while warning the threat across Europe has grown and “we must respond with more human and material resources.”
Mayor Juan Molero told residents the town felt “considerable unease” after Saturday’s events but that life was returning to normal. “We have to keep working, harvesting rice and fishing for crabs,” he said, adding that incidents like this damage the municipality’s good name as one of Europe’s main rice-growing areas.
Fuel seizures in Cádiz and convictions in Almería show different fronts of the same fight
In Cádiz, the Guardia Civil has also dismantled a substantial fuel supply network used to keep high-speed smuggling boats running. Over the weekend officers seized 590 jerrycans and five boats, more than 16,000 litres of fuel in total, and arrested three people on suspicion of smuggling and illegal possession of explosive or flammable substances.A storage ‘nursery’ discovered in Barbate held 200 jerrycans, two outboard motors and a disassembled panel boat. Nearly thirty Guardia Civil officers took part in the combined land, sea and air operation.
The regional courts have also been active. The High Court of Justice of Andalucía has upheld convictions linked to an attempted smuggling run to Almería in which more than 2,045 kilos of hashish were involved.
The ship’s captain was sentenced to four years and four months, and a man waiting with a van to pick up the cargo was given three years and six months. The incident happened on the night of February 7-8 2022, when Guardia Civil officers found 47 bales on board. Another 19 bales were recovered near the boat and four packages were later found on nearby beaches. The seized haul was valued at about €4.2 million and the convicted men were fined €5 million each.
These actions sit alongside a wider crackdown along the Costa del Sol, where police recently made dozens of arrests and dismantled several gangs in a major operation that struck at organised networks operating in Málaga province. Together they underline the scale of the challenge and the growing demands on Spain’s security services to keep pace.
As Toscano said, “there is still a long way to go,” but the Government remains “firm in its resolve” to tackle the drug trade.
Images: chuckherrera/Pixabay and Policia Nacional
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