HIBAPRESS – Mohamed Zerriouh
Spanish police in occupied Melilla have dealt another blow to cross-border drug smuggling networks, after the success of the Anti-Drug and Organized Crime Unit (UDYCO) in seizing a large shipment of hashish weighing 92 kilograms, carefully hidden inside a secret compartment of a vehicle arriving via the Beni Ensar crossing, in a security operation that reflects the precision of intelligence monitoring.
This operation is the fruit of precise investigations initiated by the security services at the beginning of September, after a car with advanced structural modifications was monitored. These modifications enabled it to cross into Moroccan territory with the aim of planning to smuggle the shipment to the Spanish coasts via sea routes. This prompted security agencies to monitor the vehicle's movements as soon as it returned.
In the context of ensuring traffic safety and avoiding suspicion at the sensitive crossing point, security elements opted to avoid direct intervention at the border line at the Beni Ensar crossing. They contented themselves with closely monitoring the car, which carried a man and a woman, before intervening with high professionalism and intercepting its path just before it reached the port area.
A thorough field inspection revealed a false bottom and a specially prepared rear compartment for camouflage. The strong and distinctive smell of hashish emanating from it reinforced the security elements' suspicions, leading to the seizure of the total quantity of 92 kilograms and the arrest of the two suspects in connection with cases affecting public health.
The detainees, along with the official reports, were presented to the competent judicial authority. The investigating judge ordered the detention of the male suspect in pre-trial detention, while the woman concerned was released on bail, amid ongoing investigations to uncover the potential ramifications of this network.
