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Date Published: 06/07/2023

Five tons of hashish seized from British luxury yacht in Santa Pola, Alicante

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The drugs discovered aboard the British-flagged boat have an estimated street value of 32 million euros

Five tons of hashish seized from British luxury yacht in Santa Pola, Alicante

Police in Alicante intercepted a British luxury yacht in Santa Pola while a consignment of almost five tons of hashish with an estimated street value of 32 million euros was being unloaded.

Investigators believe the drugs, confiscated on the shores of Varadero beach, were transferred onto the British-flagged 'Getaway of London' at sea after a four-engined narcotics boat was detected sailing off Alicante coast at high-speed.

According to the National Narcotics Central Office, a gram of hashish currently retails for 6.73 euros on the 'illicit black market', which means that the 4,788 kilos seized in 126 bales seized would have fetched 32.2 million euros on the street, or 10.1 million if the drugs had been sold by the kilo.

The sting involved both the National Police and the Guardia Civil as part of a province-wide anti-drugs operation, and has led to four arrests so far.

The yacht came to the authorities' attention following a tip-off that a large quantity of hashish was being trafficked to Alicante province from the African continent.

Hours before the arrival of the British luxury yacht in the port of Santa Pola, the Security Forces spotted a 'go fast' type vessel with four engines sailing at a speed of 52 knots.

The vessel was apparently loaded with what appeared to be bales, and a rapid joint surveillance operation was set up around Santa Pola marina to cover all accesses and detect possible movements of drug unloading.

According to a police statement, "investigators believed that this drug boat was the one that transferred the drugs to the British yacht on the high seas".

The investigation is still underway to locate an undisclosed number of people who managed to flee when police aborted the disembarkation in the early hours of June 27.

Three people were arrested in the Varadero area of Santa Pola, where the yacht was moored, and a fourth handed himself in to the Guardia Civil in La Vall d'Uixó, in the neighbouring province of Castellón, a few days later.

The yacht, about 18 metres in length and valued at between 300,000 euros and 1.5 million euros on the second-hand market, has also been seized.

In other news: Battle of the bathers returns to Benidorm over reserved beach spaces

Images: Policía Nacional/Guardia Civil

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