MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spain gateway for South American cocaine, says US report

Organised criminal networks have turned Spain into a major gateway into Europe for illegal shipments of cocaine and cannabis, according to the US State Department and published in the Gibraltar Chronicle.

In a new report on the global drugs menace, the US State Department added that money laundering and associated criminality posed "a major threat" to Spain. The report noted that Spain is the principal stepping stone for Europe-bound shipments of hashish from Morocco and Algeria, adding that nationals from Gibraltar remain involved in this trade. "Hashish trafficking is controlled by Moroccan, British, and Portuguese smugglers and, to some extent, nationals of Gibraltar and the Netherlands," the report said. "Spanish Civil Guard investigations have uncovered strong ties between the Galician mafia in the northwest corner of Spain and Moroccan hashish traffickers." "Hashish continues to be smuggled into Spain via commercial fishing boats, cargo containers, fast Zodiac boats, and commercial trucks." South American gangs also continue to use Spain as the main entry point for cocaine coming from Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Traffickers exploit Spain's close historic and linguistic ties with Latin America and its extensive coastlines to transport drugs for consumption in Spain or distribution to other parts of Europe. Intelligence collected by the US Drug Enforcement Agency suggests a developing trend for Colombian cocaine to be sent first to Africa and then smuggled northward into Spain. In the past year there has been a significant increase in the number of "swallower mules" – people who swallow drugs before boarding international flights - detained in Nigeria en route from Latin America to Spain. "With drug traffickers targeting Spain in a major way and its Government reaching out to the U.S. for collaboration, the U.S. will continue to coordinate closely with Spanish counter-narcotics officials," the State Department report concluded.