Drugs gang caught red handed unloading 1,600 kilos of hashish on to a beach

The Guardia Civil have arrested 7 people when they were caught red-handed unloading 51 bundles of hashish weighing 1,600 kilos, from an inflatable boat on the shore of the Vargas Beach in Agüimes in Gran Canaria. In addition, there was a vehicle that belonged to the gang at the beach prepared for the transport of the drugs, being looked after by one of the detainees who was acting as guardian of the place where the drugs were to be stored.

The arrests came as a result of surveillance carried out by the Guardia Civil marine unit, who detected a possible drug landing in the area of ​​Punta Langostero, in the southeast of Gran Canaria, for which one of the patrols from Agüimes was immediately dispatched to.

When they got there, they found they were at the exact place of arrival of the inflatable boat and could see them unloading the drugs onto the beach, but when the gang saw them they fled on foot meaning the patrol unit could only seize the boat, the vehicle, the bundles of drugs, and the one man guarding the getaway car.

Because of this, the support of other patrols in service in the area was requested by the Las Palmas Command Operations Centre (COS), for an extensive search of the coastline looking for the other six gang members that had fled from the scene.

The search operation lasted until dawn and the six other people involved in the incident were finally arrested after being discovered hiding between the Barranco de Guayadeque and the GC-1 highway.

After the arrest, a search was carried out at a house in Agüimes where they found another inflatable boat, two outboard motors, fuel cylinders, and other materials necessary to guarantee the return of the individuals in charge of transportation of the drug by sea to their place of origin.

The detainees have been investigated for a Crime of belonging to a Criminal Organization and another for Drug Trafficking, and the investigation is ongoing to find other possible people involved. After being handed over to the Judicial Authorities, all have been imprisoned awaiting trial.