800 kilos of cannabis resin found in underground car park

GIBRALTAR (GibChronicle) A car stashed full of cannabis resin worth £3.9m was seized in an underground car park in a local housing estate following a joint operation by HM Customs and the Royal Gibraltar Police. The car, a white Spanish-registration SEAT Leon, was loaded with 26 bales of drugs weighing 800 kilos. A local man was arrested and released on police bail while investigations continue, with further arrests possible in the coming days. The Customs-led operation led to a large area of Harbour Views Estate>
being cordoned off on Wednesday night as officers using sniffer dogs searched three underground car parks. When the car was located, it was found packed tight with canvas-wrapped bales of cannabis resin. “They were packed into the car like sardines in a tin,” said one officer involved in the operation. The car was towed to a secure location and yesterday forensics officers were at work on the vehicle and its contents. As well as the drugs, a number of items were found in the vehicle including a vest bearing the name of private security firm in Spain and a wallet containing a Guardia Civil identification badge. It was not clear whether either of the items were genuine. The operation remains ongoing and one of the key lines of investigation is to establish how and why the drugs arrived in Gibraltar, and their final destination. Although cannabis resin is the most widely-consumed illegal drug in Gibraltar, shipments of this size are rare and unlikely to be for the local market.