MADRID: Spanish police said Wednesday they had seized 20 tons of cannabis hidden in refrigerated trucks carrying peppers from Morocco.
Officers stopped a truck carrying 12 tons of cannabis resin in false compartments behind boxes of green peppers in the southern province of Cadiz on October 21, Spain’s National Police said in a statement.
Three days later, a second truck carrying eight tons of the drug was intercepted near the city of Granada.
Both vehicles had arrived at the port of Algeciras from Tangier.
Twenty people were arrested and jailed on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.
Investigators said traffickers used lookout vehicles to evade police, and some of the drugs were packaged in candy-like wrappers “aimed at attracting younger consumers.”
Authorities also seized nine vehicles, an automatic pistol and more than 7,000 euros ($8,100) in cash as part of the operation was conducted with Moroccan police.
Spain is a major entry point for drugs into Europe because of its proximity to Morocco and connections with Latin America.
Morocco is a key source of a type of cannabis resin known as hashish, and Latin America is the main source of cocaine.
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Spain finds 20 tons of cannabis in pepper shipments
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Spain finds 20 tons of cannabis in pepper shipments
- Both vehicles had arrived at the port of Algeciras from Tangier
- Twenty people were arrested and jailed on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime
Merz pushes PA’s Abbas on reforms ahead of Israel trip
BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for reforms of the Palestinian Authority in a phone call with its leader Mahmud Abbas early Saturday, hours before taking off for Israel.
Speaking from Berlin, Merz urged Abbas to push through “urgently necessary reforms” at the Palestinian Authority so that the organization could “play a constructive role in a post-war order,” according to German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius.
Merz also underscored German support for US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza and “welcomed the Palestinian Authority’s cooperative attitude” toward the deal in the call, the spokesman said.
The fragile ceasefire agreement to end the Gaza war is supposed to be just the first phase of the plan.
Germany is among Israel’s closest allies and most outspoken supporters.
Merz’s call with Abbas came hours before the chancellor was scheduled to leave Berlin late Saturday morning for an overnight visit to Israel.
After a brief stop in Jordan, where Merz is scheduled to meet with the Jordanian King Abdullah II, Merz is expected to arrive in Jerusalem for meetings with top Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Merz also plans to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel.
In his call with Abbas, Merz reiterated Germany’s position that a two-state solution remains the ultimate way to achieve peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, according to the spokesman.
Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials hvae repeatedly rejected the prospect of an independent Palestinian state.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, has also explicitly ruled out a two-state solution.
Speaking from Berlin, Merz urged Abbas to push through “urgently necessary reforms” at the Palestinian Authority so that the organization could “play a constructive role in a post-war order,” according to German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius.
Merz also underscored German support for US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza and “welcomed the Palestinian Authority’s cooperative attitude” toward the deal in the call, the spokesman said.
The fragile ceasefire agreement to end the Gaza war is supposed to be just the first phase of the plan.
Germany is among Israel’s closest allies and most outspoken supporters.
Merz’s call with Abbas came hours before the chancellor was scheduled to leave Berlin late Saturday morning for an overnight visit to Israel.
After a brief stop in Jordan, where Merz is scheduled to meet with the Jordanian King Abdullah II, Merz is expected to arrive in Jerusalem for meetings with top Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Merz also plans to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel.
In his call with Abbas, Merz reiterated Germany’s position that a two-state solution remains the ultimate way to achieve peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, according to the spokesman.
Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials hvae repeatedly rejected the prospect of an independent Palestinian state.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, has also explicitly ruled out a two-state solution.
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