A POWERFUL hashish smuggling syndicate has been dismantled this morning after 35 arrests were made in San Roque and La Linea.
Raids on 26 addresses all over Andalusia have resulted in vehicles, money, weapons and tons of hashish being seized by the Guardia Civil.
Operation Mopa, which involved 500 agents, is one of the biggest attacks on organised crime by the OCON Sur anti-smuggling unit.
The coordinated raids ensured that criminals could not escape the snare, planned for nearly a year by Guardia Civil detectives.
The gang operated mainly out of San Roque and La Linea, regularly making trips to Morocco for the widely used substance.
Raids took place as far away as the Andalusian capital of Seville in the neighbourhoods of Canas, Isla Mayor, Dos Hermanas and Alcala de Guadaira.
Police units also swooped on other parts of the criminal network in San Fernando, Sanlucar de Barrameda in Cadiz, Malaga, Manilva and Cordoba.
Investigations are continuing and further arrests are not being ruled out.
Gibraltar has been closely involved in foiling drug smuggling efforts since an agreement was signed with Spain as part of the post-Brexit relationship.
In last year’s major operation, a whole illegal estate in La Linea used as a base for drug barons was raided by elite units.
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