Two men will be in the dock next Tuesday in Arrecife for an alleged drug trafficking crime. They are accused of having introduced more than 200 kilos of hashish into the island in a small boat, for which the Prosecutor's Office is asking for 6 years in prison for them. It also requests that these two men be fined close to one million euros. They were arrested on September 11, 2015 and sent to pre-trial detention, where they have remained since then.
In its indictment, the Public Prosecutor's Office reports that in the early hours of September 11, S.B.J and B.M., both of Moroccan nationality and without a criminal record, "reached the island of Lanzarote, near the Pechiguera Lighthouse in the town of Playa Blanca, aboard a small boat, carrying 209.95 kilograms of hashish divided into bundles inside". Their "final intention", it adds, was to "distribute" that substance, which could have reached a value of 328,991 euros in the "illicit market".
In addition, S.B.J. and B.M. were not alone that night, they were accompanied by "a third person who has not been identified", the prosecutor's brief points out. This was also explained by the Civil Guard when it reported their arrest. According to the Benemérita at the time, it was the Yaiza Local Police who found them while carrying out a search. When the agents were near the Pechiguera lighthouse, they spotted a "suspicious boat" and as they approached the coast they discovered three people unloading bundles. The local agents managed to intercept them and arrest one of them. A second was arrested by the Civil Guard, which arrived shortly afterwards in the area. However, the Benemérita explained at the time that the third person involved ran away and they could not find him.
S.B.J. and B.M. were sent to pre-trial detention the following day, and remain there awaiting trial, scheduled for this Tuesday morning. S.B.J. is also subject to an expulsion order, according to the Prosecutor's Office, which was issued on December 22, for being in an "irregular situation" in Spain. For him, he asks that, if convicted and as established by the Penal Code, once 4 years of imprisonment have been served, the remainder of the sentence be replaced by the "expulsion from Spanish territory" and the prohibition to enter the country for 5 years.
