Spain arrests 30 people smuggling cannabis disguised as humanitarian aid for Ukraine - media

MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax) - Spanish law enforcement agencies have arrested 30 people, among them Ukrainians, Spaniards, Germans, and Moroccans, on suspicion of transporting marijuana under the guise of humanitarian aid for Ukraine, Ukrainian media have reported with reference to the BBC.

"Police in Spain have arrested 30 people accused of smuggling cannabis that was disguised as aid for Ukraine. Ukrainians, Spaniards, Germans and Moroccans were among those held in the Andalusia region," the report said.

Police said the drugs came from across the southern region, were packaged in cardboard boxes, and travelled through several countries, it said.

The drugs were seized a month after Spanish police announced the largest haul of cannabis ever found in the country, it said.

Citing the Civil Guard, the BBC said police became suspicious after identifying a group of Ukrainians on the Costa del Sol collecting cannabis and storing it in an apartment near Malaga.

"The drugs were packed in vacuum bags and placed in cardboard boxes on vans registered in Ukraine, which proceeded to travel 'as a solidarity convoy so they could pass under the radar of police and border controls'," it said.

In raids in Malaga province and in a number of cities in southern Spain, police seized nearly 800,000 euros, six guns, and 2,500 cannabis plants, it said.