Police find hashish stuffed sardines in a luxury villa in Marbella

Police discovered the frozen sardines in a truck en route from Morocco this week, and found them to have a rather unusual herbal stuffing — around 900 kilos of hashish.

The operation, which was codenamed "Maria," was run by customs officials, who tracked the cargo from Morocco to a dockside warehouse in Cádiz, from where it traveled to a luxury villa in Marbella

 

Reportedly, police had been monitoring the gang for over a month, since the syndicate leader arrived in Spain from Morocco to plan the shipment. The operation led to the arrest of 14 suspected traffickers, together with the confiscation of cannabis worth more than €3.6 million.

 

A police spokesman told the media, “Officers found 325 kilos of hashish hidden inside the frozen sardines in the refrigeration truck.” “A further 570 kilos was intercepted in a warehouse of El Puerto de Santa María in Cádiz,” he added. 

 

Another hashish bust just down the coast: 

 

It seems this wasn't the only hashish bust in the past week, as apparently a luxury pleasure craft off Almuñécar’s Velilla beach was seized by the Guardia Civil with 300 kilos of hashish on board.

 

Two men, aged 36 and 31, both Spaniards and both from Málaga, were arrested in the bust. One of the men has been arrested before for drug running.

 

That particular action was part of Plan Telos, a police operation started at the beginning of the year to heighten land, sea and air vigilance over the North African drug route.

 

The proximity of Morocco to the Costa del Sol invites many illegal incursions of this kind and police have to keep up the fight constantly.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353945

 

Spanish police detain owner of Nazi hate crime blog

On July 4, National Police agents arrested a 40-year-old man in Sabadell, Catalunya for running a blog able to publish ideas likely to cause discrimination, hatred and violence, on racist, anti-Semitic or ideological grounds.

The investigation started in the middle of November last year after agents detected the existence on the network of an online publication, participating in the national socialist ideology and strongly propagating the supremacy of the white race over all others. 

The man used his blog to disseminate ideas that can cause discrimination, hatred or violence against groups on ideological, racist and anti-Semitic grounds, taking advantage of the anonymity and speed of social networks.

There were more than one hundred weapons found in his home, including knives of different types and sizes, machetes, Samurai swords, axes, a cane stylet, ninja stars and daggers, baseball bats, mallets, American cuffs, wood, rubber and extendable tonfas, shackles, nunchakus (otherwise known as Japanese chain-sticks), and others.

Police also seized 3 revolvers, 4 guns and 1 air rifle, 40 cartridges of different calibers, self-defense sprays, Nazi-themed films and CDs, as well as 2 laptops, 3 hard drives and several mobile phones.

Research has been conducted by officials assigned to the Provincial Information Brigade of the Police Headquarters of Catalonia, in collaboration with the General Information Office, National Police.

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/353912

Cost cutting exercise: Spain's national police buy own bullet-proof vests

Due to lack of government funding, many members of the Spanish national police are being forced to cough up around €1,000 each for bullet-proof vests and slash-resistant clothing.

There are several branches of the police force in Spain, and the National Police Corps are those responsible for dealing with high-risk situations, such as armed robberies.

However, with the current austerity measures and budget cuts in the country, they are digging deep in their own pockets for their protection in such dangerous incidents.

José María Benito Celador, a spokesperson for the Unified Police Union (SUP) told the Local: “On average each national policeman has to pay €1,000 for bullet-proof vests, slash resistant gloves and other equipment that can be the difference between life and death.”

“A lot of this kit is only guaranteed to be effective for ten years, so the investment has to be made again.”

According to police sources, a lot of the equipment given to officers is in disrepair, and this can only worsen with the current economic crisis. SUP has warned that only half of Spain’s national police force have their own slash-resistant gloves and even fewer are equipped with bullet-proof vests. 

Each individual officer is also expected to buy other routine equipment, including boots, holsters, new uniforms and torches. 

“The government has to invest in the safety of the people who are fighting to protect Spanish citizens,” Celador said.
 
 “Other police forces like the local police, who don’t have to deal with such dangerous situations, get their funding from regional governments and are far better equipped, and paid, than Spain’s national police."

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/351505