HIBAPRESS – Mohamed Zariouh
In the early hours of Monday, January 12, 2026, the Civil Guard authorities at the port of occupied Melilla achieved a significant achievement in combating drug smuggling, where an attempt to smuggle a huge shipment of "hashish" weighing 90.6 kilograms was thwarted, which was directed to the Iberian Peninsula.
The operation was carried out during routine inspection in the shipping area designated for vehicles heading to the city of Malaga. The attention of the security elements was drawn to a Toyota Land Cruiser, which prompted them to request support from the trained dog unit. The police dog clearly indicated the presence of prohibited substances in the cavities of the car's chassis, and the drugs carefully hidden inside the structural parts of the car were discovered. Experts believe that the seized quantity is estimated at about 362,500 individual doses, which were expected to fill the black markets. Thanks to this qualitative operation, two Spanish people were arrested; a 25-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman. They were placed under preliminary custody pending their appearance before the judiciary on charges of committing a "crime against public health". This operation is an extension of the ongoing efforts made by the Civil Guard in confronting smuggling networks, as the last successful operations were in December 2025 when more than 104 kilograms of "chira" were seized in the same way. In this context, the Civil Guard in occupied Melilla confirmed that the strategy of enhancing cooperation between the different units, especially the cynotechnic units, is one of the foundations on which they rely on combating smuggling networks, and preventing the port of the occupied Thaghr from becoming a crossing point for drugs to Europe.
