The National Court sends to prison the 11 crew members of the ship with 20 tons of hashish

It was intercepted on Sunday about 40 miles from the Canary Islands, in an operation by the National Police

August 11 2021 (15:32 WEST)
Updated in August 11 2021 (15:53 WEST)
Drugs found on the ship intercepted in waters near the Canary Islands
Drugs found on the ship intercepted in waters near the Canary Islands

The eleven Syrian crew members who were arrested in the operation in which the Police intercepted and boarded a merchant ship loaded with almost 20 tons of hashish in waters near the Canary Islands were brought this Tuesday before the judge of the National Court, who has agreed to provisional prison for all of them.

Legal sources consulted by Europa Press indicate that the entire crew appeared before the head of the Central Court of Instruction number 1 and that they are charged with facts that may constitute the crimes of drug trafficking and criminal organization.

The operation, carried out on Sunday, was possible thanks to a joint investigation by Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and the National Police, called 'Natalia', which had the collaboration of the French customs services DNRED.

During the investigation, its proximity to the waters of the Canary Islands was detected and it was decided to intercept it urgently with two patrol boats of the Customs Surveillance Service, the 'Sacre' and the 'Halcón', which left on the night of Saturday, August 7, in search of the objective, being boarded in the early hours of Sunday, August 8, when it was about 40 miles southeast of Fuerteventura, in international waters, as reported by the Tax Agency in a press release.

 

Difficulties in keeping the ship afloat

Once the ship was stormed, controlled and secured, the Customs Surveillance officials were able to verify the poor condition of the ship, with multiple leaks and risk of fire in the engines, which forced an "arduous work" to the troops of the two patrol boats to be able to keep the ship afloat and finally reach the port of Las Palmas on Sunday night.

Subsequently, on Monday, August 9, both Customs Surveillance officials and National Police agents proceeded to jointly search the merchant ship, where, as they suspected, they verified that the ship, in addition to carrying an ordinary shipment of plaster, also carried a large load of hashish that was hidden in its holds.

Specifically, the operatives counted a total of 638 bundles totaling 19,876 kilos of hashish, which represents another highly relevant shipment intercepted this year in waters near the Canary Islands

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