Gambiaj.com – (CEUTA, Spain) – Spanish authorities have uncovered an elaborate underground tunnel used to smuggle large quantities of hashish from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, a territory that forms part of the European Union’s only land border with Africa.
Police said Tuesday that the tunnel, hidden beneath an industrial warehouse, was equipped with a rail system and underground cranes designed to move shipments of the drug across the border. The structure stretched across three underground levels and included a descent shaft, a mid-level chamber used for pallet storage, and the main tunnel itself.
The discovery highlights the scale and sophistication of drug-trafficking networks operating between North Africa and southern Europe. Ceuta, along with the Spanish enclave of Melilla further east, has long been considered a strategic gateway for narcotics entering the European market.
Authorities said the operation resulted in the seizure of 17 metric tons of hashish and €1.4 million (about $1.6 million) in cash. A total of 27 suspects were arrested in connection with the smuggling network, though police did not reveal the estimated street value of the drugs.
Hashish, produced from cannabis resin, is typically trafficked into Spain by sea, often using high-speed boats that ferry the drug across the narrow waters separating Morocco from the Iberian Peninsula.
According to the European Union Drugs Agency, Spain accounted for 68 percent of all cannabis resin seizures in the European Union in 2023, underscoring the country’s central role in the continent’s drug trafficking routes.
Authorities say smugglers have increasingly turned to unconventional methods to evade detection. In the northwestern region of Galicia, law enforcement has periodically intercepted submarines or semi-submersible vessels used to transport cocaine from South America, highlighting Spain’s significance as a major transit hub for illicit drugs entering Europe.
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