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The moment armed narcos loaded a van with drugs in southern Andalucia was secretly captured by the police.
Guardia Civil shared footage of a group moving bales in Huelva near the border of Portugal.
Some of the traffickers are wearing face masks or balaclavas, while others brandish weapons that look like they were made by the military.
The AUGC police union stated on X, “This isn’t a film.” The images show the spectacular drug stash at Huelva in Huelva in broad daylight with assault weapons in front the Muelle de las Carabelas in Huelva.
The group then made a dig at Interior Minister Fernando Marlaska. “Minister Marlaska continues denying the serious security problems and does not recognise the risks facing Guardia Civil officials.”
It comes after the force warned this month that they are not well enough equipped to deal with the ‘growing’ scourge of drug trafficking across Andalucia.
As part of the investigation, at least 12 people have been arrested.
Four men were recently cuffed by police in Lagos in Portugal’s Algarve region and are awaiting extradition to Spain.
During an armed police pursuit, one suspect took refuge inside a school full of students. Luckily, no one was injured.
According to Spanish reports, the operation was aimed at dismantling a ‘powerful’ criminal gang based in Punta Umbria, Huelva.
The mafia has been accused of transporting narcotics from northern Morocco along the coast of Huelva, and other estuaries.
After the police increased their presence on the Costa del Sol coast and Campo de Gibraltar, drug traffickers have found new routes.
In the last year, there have been multiple incidents of police clashes with drug traffickers along the Guadalquivir River and its estuaries.
Last week, it was also revealed that children were being used to smuggle narcotics into mainland Spain.
Policia Nacional reported that it detained two juveniles and one adult in Algeciras near Gibraltar for drug trafficking.
The three, who took a boat to the Spanish enclave Ceuta in North Africa had strapped bricks hashish on their bodies.
The drugs, weighing over 2kg in total, were labelled ‘lemon hash’, with one photo of a suspect showing how multiple bricks were taped to his stomach and back.
It comes after the Guardia Civil this month claimed they are still ‘unarmed’ one year after the killings of two officers and that drug trafficking is growing and ‘taking root in coastal towns.’
Jucil is the union representing the ranks and fils, which claims that it has insufficient resources to fight the narco-scourge, putting lives at risk.
Officers David Nuñez and Miguel Angel Gonzalez were killed on February 9 last year when their smaller Zodiac speed boat was rammed by a narco boat sheltering from a storm in the port of Barbate.
“One year later, and we are still unarmed against the drug traffickers,” said general secretary Ernesto Vilariño.
READ MORE Watch: Spanish police discover nearly 300kg of hash floating on the Strait of Gibraltar following a week of intense drug activity
“The situation in the area has not improved, it’s actually gotten worse. The Guardia Civil has still insufficient resources to combat drug trafficking.
“The increased sightings and fuel boats that supply the drug boats are a clear indication that the problem has spread to coastal towns.”
While the Interior Ministry has claimed the fact that drug seizures were down in 2024 – still a staggering 150 tonnes of hash and 44 tonnes of cocaine – is evidence that overall trafficking is down, Jucil disagrees.
READ MORE Kalashnikov assault weapons among the weapons confiscated in a three-tonne cocaine bust south of Spain.
The Ministry attributes the decrease to the alleged lower production of drugs in Morocco, and to the shift in trafficking routes. But the truth is that there are less seizures because there aren’t enough resources to intercept them,” the report said.
It points to the fall in street prices of these drugs as proof that drug quantities entering Spain without detection is increasing.
Jucil complained the Guardia Civil received too few patrol boats in poor conditions, which allowed the narco boat to dominate Gibraltar Strait.
Many of their vehicles have more than 250,000km and lack essential safety features for high-speed pursuits.
Jucil states that the authorities are letting them down not just in their lack of resources but also in their failure to open an inquiry into the sequence of events that led up to the deaths of Nuñez and Gonzalez a year ago.
READ MORE Netflix documentary claims to have violated the rights of a notorious narco in the Strait of Gibraltar
“At a political and hierarchical level, it is as if nothing had happened,” Vilariño said.
“The state failed its security forces. Today, we continue to fight drug trafficking in dangerous conditions and without adequate resources.”
READ MORE Hapless ‘Whatsapp group’ narco gang busted in the Strait of Gibraltar: Chat messages reveal group’s inner workings
“We cannot allow the death of our colleagues to be forgotten, nor can we allow ourselves to mourn new tragedies in a year,” Vilariño continued.
“Drug Trafficking is a serious issue that needs to be addressed immediately, which also means recomposition. [specialised drug fighting unit] The OCON-Sur”
“Drug trafficking is destroying families, and this is due to the lack of efficient means for the agents and the lack of social commitment in the province to prevent young people from trying to make a living with something as unsafe as drug trafficking,” added Agustín Domínguez, provincial secretary of Jucil in Cádiz.
