HM Customs, together with the RGP, Spanish Guardia Civil, Polish Border Guard, Italian Guardia di Finanza and the UK National Crime Agency have assisted in the arrest of an international drug smuggling gang.

This resulted in the seizure of 3,300kg of cannabis resin with a street value of a £1.5 million, being seized onboard a vessel off the Italian coast.

The operation has led to the arrest of nineteen Polish nationals, part of the four major crime syndicates in Poland dedicated to the trafficking of drugs from Morocco to mainland Europe. The organisation had its operational base on the Spanish coast in Granada province.

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC said, ‘The excellent work done by HM Customs with the assistance of the RGP, has contributed to a major international crime gang being brought to justice. We should all be very proud of their excellent work, which has been recognised internationally.’