Rabat – Spanish Guardia Civil, with support from Morocco’s General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST), arrested three suspected drug traffickers in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands on December 10.
The arrests followed information from the DGST that helped Spanish authorities monitor a criminal group believed to be preparing a major drug smuggling operation, according to Europa Press.
Police spotted a fast boat approaching the coast and then intercepted a van linked to the landing. Officers found 23 packages of hashish weighing about 877 kilograms inside the van, as well as multiple phones and GPS devices.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities work to identify others connected to the network.
Meanwhile, the three men were handed over to the Court of First Instance and Instruction No. 8 in Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura and were ordered to be held at the Tahiche Penitentiary Center in Lanzarote, according to the outlet.
Morocco and Spain have a long record of cooperating against drug trafficking and related crimes. In April 2024, information from the DGST helped the Spanish Guardia Civil intercept a boat carrying about 2.3 tons of cannabis resin off the coast of Gran Canaria, leading to arrests of those involved.
Earlier in 2024, more than 1.5 tons of cocaine were seized near Gran Canaria after the DGST alerted Spanish police about a suspicious vessel, allowing officers to stop the shipment and arrest three suspects.
In another significant operation in February 2025, the Guardia Civil seized over 2 tons of drugs near Tenerife after tips from Moroccan authorities alerted them to imminent landings, resulting in several arrests.
Moroccan and Spanish security services also work closely on land and criminal networks. For example, the two countries dismantled two large international hashish trafficking networks in refrigerated truck convoys in late 2025, seizing about 20 tons of cannabis and arresting 20 people.
