Madrid: Spanish police said Thursday they had seized more than eight tons of hashish in two operations in the southern province of Cadiz, where drug traffickers are operating in an increasingly brazen manner that has alarmed authorities.
Officers seized around 2.5 tons of hashish from a house in a rural area near the port of Algeciras on Wednesday night after a tense standoff with suspected traffickers who had barricaded themselves inside, police said in a statement.
The police were targeted by “at least six shots from inside the house,” some of which only narrowly missed officers, it added.
The four suspects inside the house gave themselves up after two hours of negotiation and were arrested.
Earlier on Wednesday, police seized more than six tons of hashish hidden in the basement of a house in the poverty stricken town of La Linea de la Concepcion on the border with Gibraltar, the disputed British territory on Spain’s southern tip.
The entrance to the basement was hidden by the floor of a shower. A video released by police showed how the shower’s floor could easily be opened by a hydraulic system activated by a remote control.
Police arrested one man during the operation, while several others managed to flee.
Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido in February vowed to send more police to Cadiz after around 20 people stormed a hospital in La Linea and freed a suspected narco who was under police guard.
In other cases traffickers have openly defied security forces by unloading drugs in broad daylight.
Spain’s proximity to Morocco, a key source of cannabis, and its close ties with former colonies in Latin America, a major cocaine producing region, have made it an important gateway for international drug dealers.
According to the interior ministry, 40 percent of all drugs that come to Spain arrive via Cadiz.
Spanish police seize over eight tons of hashish
Spanish police seize over eight tons of hashish
- Police were targeted by “at least six shots from inside the house” during one of the operations.
- 40 percent of all drugs that come to Spain arrive via Cadiz, according to the interior ministry.
Two killed in suicide attack targeting security forces in Pakistan’s northwest
ISLAMABAD: Two security personnel, including an officer, were killed, while multiple others sustained injuries when a suicide blast targeted their vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a police official said.
The suicide bomber hit his explosive-laden motorbike into an armored vehicle of security forces in Sara Darga area of KP’s Bannu district, according to a local police official who requested anonymity.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have carried out similar assaults in the region in past.
“The attack had damaged the armored vehicle, causing deaths and injuries,” he told Arab News, adding that they suspected the Pakistani Taliban to be behind the attack.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, in recent years, with militant groups, particularly the TTP, frequently targeting security forces, law enforcers and government officials in the region.
Earlier this week, Pakistani Taliban militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpoint jointly manned by security forces and law enforcement agencies in KP’s Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel among 12 people, the Pakistani military’s media wing said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny this.
