Madrid (Spain), June 1, 2026 (SPS) – The Spanish security authorities were able to carry out a qualitative operation against international drug trafficking networks that are working to flood Europe with hashish from Morocco, using advanced means such as drones, according to media reports.
According to the same sources, the Spanish police dealt a strong blow to a criminal network that was active between Morocco, Algeciras and the Basque Country, all the way to France, using drones and vehicles equipped with complex secret hideouts to smuggle hashish and cocaine via unconventional routes that combine air and land.
The Spanish police confirmed that what happened in this security operation was not related to dismantling a traditional smuggling network, but rather revealed a “dangerous shift in the drug trade,” after criminal networks made the sky an open path for drones piercing the sea to flood Europe with these toxins.
According to the same sources, the operation ended with the arrest of eight people after carrying out five simultaneous raids in several areas, in one of the cases that reveals the development of organized crime methods in the region.
According to investigation data that began in 2025, the network relied on fixed-wing drones to cross the Strait of Gibraltar and transport shipments of drugs departing from Morocco to Spanish territory, where they were received and hidden inside cars equipped with secret pockets that were difficult to detect, before being transported back to northern Spain, especially the city of Vitoria, and from there to French networks active in distributing drugs within Europe.
The Spanish authorities were able to seize one of these planes, a device approximately four meters long, equipped with four engines and capable of transporting up to 20 kilograms of drugs per flight at a speed exceeding 100 kilometers per hour, which made the network capable of carrying out lightning crossing operations between Morocco and Spain in just a few minutes.
The operation also resulted in the seizure of 40 kg of hashish, 2 kg of cocaine, and two cars equipped with secret hideouts, in addition to a sum of money, a drone, and technical equipment related to the criminal activity of smuggling networks that have increasingly relied on modern technology and drones to transport toxins towards Europe. (SPA)
