December 2025 was a busy month for Spanish police who bust a sophisticated aerial drug trafficking syndicate operating between northern Morocco and southern Europe. Ever larger quantities of hashish are being flown across the narrow channel that separates Africa from Europe, with smugglers upgrading from drones to choppers.
Spanish police, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, launched a series of raids before Christmas which led to the arrest of six suspects and the seizure of considerable volumes of contraband and arms.
News of the drug trafficking “disruption” on 14 December 2026 came hot on the heels of reports last month that Moroccan drug smugglers were using long-range drones to transport hashish across the Mediterranean into Spain.
Now the syndicates have upped their game and are using helicopters to move their contraband.
Spain’s Civil Guard Spanish bust a gang using helicopters to ferry between 500 and 900kg of cannabis resin per trip across the 25 km sea route. The choppers landed at secret locations where the hash was offloaded and moved by road to other parts of Europe.
Authorities seized one helicopter and 657kg of cannabis during coordinated raids in the southern provinces of Malaga, Almeria, and Murcia. The Brussels Times reported that Belgian, Moroccan and Swedish law enforcement were also involved in the anti-narcotics operation, dubbed “Giro”.
The latest developments highlights the cross-border nature of Moroccan drug trafficking routes into Europe. Police said the drugs were stored in rural areas in southern Spain before being sent on to other European countries.
Police also recovered five firearms, cash, and several vehicles from an isolated warehouse used by the group, Civil Guard spokesperson Gonzalo Lopez said.
“It is rare for helicopters to be used to smuggle drugs, but criminal groups do occasionally attempt it,” a police source was quoted as saying, noting that helicopters are difficult to acquire illegally and easy for authorities to detect.
Spain remains a major gateway for cannabis entering Europe, most of it originating in Morocco. Smugglers typically rely on maritime routes using speedboats or jet skis, though police have recently uncovered more unconventional methods, including drones, as reported in Cannabiz Africa last month.
The drones would depart from southern Spain to pick up the drugs in Morocco and return, releasing the cargo over Vejer de la Frontera and Tarifa in Cadiz province, Spain’s Guardia Civil police force said in a statement. Nine suspects were arrested in that operation.
The six suspects arrested in the helicopter-aided smuggling have been placed in custody on charges related to drug trafficking, membership in a criminal organisation, and illegal possession of firearms, Spanish authorities reported.
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