Spain finds 20 tons of cannabis in pepper shipments

Spanish police said Wednesday they had seized 20 tons of cannabis hidden in refrigerated trucks carrying peppers from Morocco.

Officers stopped a truck carrying 12 tons of cannabis resin in false compartments behind boxes of green peppers in the southern province of Cadiz on October 21, Spain’s National Police said in a statement.

Three days later, a second truck carrying eight tons of the drug was intercepted near the city of Granada.

Both vehicles had arrived at the port of Algeciras from Tangier.

Twenty people were arrested and jailed on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.

Investigators said traffickers used lookout vehicles to evade police, and some of the drugs were packaged in candy-like wrappers “aimed at attracting younger consumers.”

Authorities also seized nine vehicles, an automatic pistol and more than 7,000 euros ($8,100) in cash as part of the operation was conducted with Moroccan police.

Spain is a major entry point for drugs into Europe because of its proximity to Morocco and connections with Latin America.

Morocco is a key source of a type of cannabis resin known as hashish, and Latin America is the main source of cocaine.