John Culatto
OVER 37kg of hashish was found floating in the sea near Camp Bay by Customs officers this morning.
Last night, 550 cartons of tobacco was discovered in a semi-rigid launch after a high-speed sea chase in the northern part of Gibraltar waters.
In this morning’s find, Customs officers were tipped off about the floating hash by a member of the public through the Royal Gibraltar Police.
The Customs officers Marine Section were soon in the area and were able to find 37.35kg of hashish in the sea.
The illegal substance is often brought over from Morocco on fast launches.
Once detected by officers of the law, drug smugglers tend to drop off their cargo to avoid being charged.
The cannabis resin found could have a street value of around £200,000.
In the other incident, a small, semi-rigid inflatable launch was located to the west of the runway by Emerson’s Place at 2.50am last night.
Customs officers from the Marine Section gave chase to the boat before the two individuals inside abandoned the boat and escaped.
The 550 cartons of different branded cigarettes were found in the boat the pair left behind.
It confirmed the two were most probably trying to smuggle tobacco to Spain.
Investigations are continuing to try to find out who is responsible for these latest crimes.
