Imogen CalderwoodIT looked like a typical British day at the seaside with men paddling gingerly in the water, their trousers rolled up to their knees.
But this was no ordinary beach knees up… it was the day after a terrible storm left thousands of packets of hashish floating onto the shore on the Costa de la Luz.
Soon the message was out via social media and men, women and even families arrived from as far afield as Sevilla and Malaga to fish the packets out of the water.
Billed as ‘free hash for all’, the so-called ‘busquimanos’ (beachcombers) arrived by mid morning to scoop up an estimated 2,000 kilos of hashish.
The haul ended up in the water after strong winds (on November 28; the day of the Malaga tornado) capsized three smuggler boats in heavy waves en route to Spain from Morocco.
As well as leading to two deaths and the arrest of over a dozen smugglers, police confirmed the arrests of over 70 people for possession of the drugs fished out of the sea.
“It has been a crazy week,” said a spokesperson for the Guardia Civil. “It was like catching flies, they were everywhere.
“There were some ridiculous situations. Like a boy pretending to fish with a fishing rod with no bait on it and two bundles of hash hidden under his bucket. Who was he trying to fool?”
He continued: “This is collective madness and these kids should stop acting like idiots. I hope everyone will now learn a lesson.”
The unprecedented number of beachcombers are now facing lengthy prison sentences, according to Cadiz drugs prosecutor, Ana Villagomez.
“This is unheard of,” said Villagomez. “There is no precedent for it, but it is a serious crime, and they are looking at anything from one to four-and-a-half years.
“It is the same as anyone who has been caught with a large quantity of drugs.”
So catch a packet of “weed” and you can get one to four and a half years , have your house demolished and all the guilty people involved get nada !
Spanish justice in action.
fred be careful of what you said , in the spanish penal code , slander is considered a crime , we can get you IP as soon as we want
LUISMI – You are a shining example of all that is wrong with Spain. Threatening people who dissent with you and your ideas. You are pathetic.
Fred – There is some free software called Cyber Ghost 5. This will change and mask your IP address to wherever you want it in the world.
Oh by the way LUISMI, if you want to check, my IP will lead you to Gibraltar. You are more than welcome to send your little green men over here. We will give them a warm welcome, I can assure you. xx
@LUISMI, who is “we”?
I’m sure Fred is quaking in his boots LUISMI (not) oh and get a dictionary, if it’s written down it can’t be slander, it can only be libel.
On another page LUISMI was making positive remarks about Franco. LUISMI, be aware that there are very strict laws about this issue and you should not be making throwaway remarks about how a Franco-style regime was good for Spain.
Olive Press editor: You should ban LUISMI from your blog because he/she is threatening other Olive Press readers as well as insulting Spanish people, many thousands of which died under his brutal regime, including some of my own step relatives. It was very poor moderation to allow pro-Franco comments to be made on this blog. If LUISMI came to my part of Andalucia saying such things he/she would be lynched very quickly indeed.