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THE INDEPENDENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER WITH LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS
EDITION 617
FRIDAY 11th JANUARY TO THURSDAY 24th JANUARY 2019 MOVIES AT ...
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MASSIVE DRUG-SMUGGLING GANG FINALLY THWARTED IN TENERIFE
HASHISH LANDED ON BEACHES EVERY MONTH
S
PANISH police have uncovered one of the most active criminal organisations in the introduction of hashish into the Canary Islands following years of landing the drugs on holiday beaches, many times in broad daylight and in front of stunned sunbathers. The Civil Guard says the gang introduced about three tons of hashish per month into
the archipelago, including in Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
A spokesman said they were so brazen that they didn’t care if tourists saw what they were doing and didn’t even bother to pick beaches in more isolated areas. They were finally caught trying to land another stash of hashish on the beach of Venegueras in the south of
Gran Canaria. “The drug traffickers even went to the extent of staking the location out, arriving at the beach several days in advance and posing as campers,” said a spokesman for the Civil Guard. Eight people then carried the 47 bales off a semi-rigid boat into a parked van and then used a series of cars as “shuttles” to transport the
hashish to another hiding place to await distribution. Eighteen people have been arrested, all but one of them being remanded in custody, and including the Moroccan leader of the organisation, aged 35 and identified as MS.Police said he protected himself so well that he often had up to 20 bodyguards surrounding him. Tenerife was the main
destination for the marijuana which was smuggled over from Morocco. “The gang had extensive contacts throughout the islands and they were paid high levels of commission,” said the spokesman. Those arrested include the skippers of boats used during the operations and a Spanish woman living in Lanzarote.
could not reveal his whereabouts until close to his arrest. Through a device established in different areas of the island, he was intercepted in the vicinity of the airport. The man has been charged with a total of 29 crimes for participation in a criminal organisation; illicit trafficking
in drugs, narcotics and psychotropic substances; illicit trafficking in arms, ammunition and explosives; money laundering; cybercrime; homicide and aggression with serious injuries; kidnapping, illegal detention and taking of hostages and robber y organised with weapons. His criminal group introduced large amounts of co-
caine and hashish in the United Kingdom and other countries of the European Union and noted for the great violence with which they acted, using firearms. The crimes against him are punishable by some 100 years in prison.
Organised crime boss finally arrested A
GENTS of the National Police have arrested at Tenerife South airport a British citizen subject to a European order of arrest and delivery for drug trafficking and organised crime. The judicial authorities of Edinburgh were looking for this man, aged 35, for his alleged participation in the illegal activities carried out by a major international criminal organisation that, between 2011 and 2018, operated in the United Kingdom, Iceland, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Spain, China and Mexico, among others.
The fugitive was in the south of Tenerife from where he carried out the activities of direction and control of the criminal group.
Due to the numerous security measures that he took, and the large amount of resources available to him, the investigative work