They locate a sophisticated drug tunnel that supplied Spain with hashish from Morocco

BarcelonaTons of drugs have been circulating underground between Morocco and Spain without anyone noticing. The National Police has now dismantled one of the largest hashish distribution networks in the State, in an operation that has brought to light a true engineering feat of drug trafficking: a drug tunnel that connected Morocco and an industrial warehouse in an industrial estate in El Tarajal, Ceuta, to move bales through a complex system of rails, carts, pulleys, and cranes.

The tunnel allowed the bales to be moved from one side to the other without direct contact between the sender and the receiver and had three levels: a descent shaft, an intermediate chamber for storing the bales, and a final line to Morocco. Thus, from the entrance of the tunnel, one had to descend through a shaft to an intermediate level where the bales of hashish were piled on pallets before their extraction outside, in what was known as the drug warehouse.

The drug circulated through a labyrinth typical of a mine, structured with carts that moved through a system of rails of complex construction, typical of engineering works. To keep the tunnel operational, two powerful drainage pumps were needed for the water, due to the existence of natural underground water deposits. Furthermore, to prevent the noise of the pumps from attracting attention from the outside, the exit of the tunnel was camouflaged behind a large soundproof refrigerator installed inside the (also soundproofed) warehouse. Investigators found that the refrigerator could be moved, which allowed them to locate the drug tunnel.

One year of investigation

The head of the Central Narcotics Brigade of the National Police (Udyco), principal commissioner Antonio Martínez Duarte, explained that the drug tunnel –1.20 meters high and 80 centimeters wide– went down to 19 meters underground. It is not yet known, however, how far it is to the end because it is now full of water. The police operation, which has led to the arrest of 27 people in Ceuta, Andalusia, and Galicia, and the seizure of 17 tons of drugs, has made it possible to dismantle "one of the largest hashish distribution networks in Spain".

Among those arrested are the two alleged leaders of the network: one is from Morocco and is considered the “narco-architect” and “tunnel boss”. He was the alleged responsible for another tunnel that was discovered last year; the other is from Ceuta – where shipments were negotiated and agreements were made – and the owner of the seized drugs. During the police operation, 1,430,000 euros in cash, 66 communication devices, and 15 luxury vehicles were also seized.

The National Police investigation to completely dismantle the network established in Ceuta and capable of moving large quantities of hashish to the Peninsula and Europe began in February 2025. "It has been a year of investigation of a distribution network that extended through the La Línea de la Concepción and Galicia, but we have managed to dismantle the entire organization," Martínez Duarte said at a press conference. Throughout this time, there have been large drug seizures. For example, last June, when 15,000 kilos of hashish were intercepted in Almeria.