A total of 700 kilos of hashish have been seized by the National Police at a toll booth on the AP-7 motorway in Manilva as they were being transported at high speed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda to France in two vehicles, whose drivers have been arrested.
The investigation began in early September, when officers learned that a French organisation was allegedly preparing to send a consignment of drugs from Cádiz to France, according to information released by the police on Sunday.
The investigators identified two French nationals who had arrived in late August in the Málaga town of Torremolinos and who were allegedly connected to other people linked to hashish trafficking networks.
The two travelled to Cádiz in a van and a rental car. They handed the van over in Jerez to third parties, who took it to a rural area of scattered homes in Sanlúcar de Barrameda before returning it to the suspects, who then set off towards Málaga in both vehicles.
The van was carrying the drugs and the car acted as a lead vehicle to clear the way at high speed, without stopping until reaching its destination, a method known as «go fast», according to the police.
Officers set up a police checkpoint at the AP-7 toll booth near Manilva. The van driver tried to avoid it by entering a lane that was closed, but did not succeed because he was intercepted by other officers providing support.
Meanwhile, other officers stopped the lead vehicle in the Marbella district of San Pedro Alcántara.
On searching both vehicles, they found 21 bales of hashish inside the van, weighing approximately 700 kilos, and the drivers were arrested as a result.
The French authorities informed the National Police that the detainees have numerous previous convictions for robbery, illegal possession of weapons and drug trafficking, among other offences.
The police investigation remains open in order to identify other people who may be connected to the case.
