Authorities in Spain and Portugal have dismantled a major drug trafficking network operating along the Guadiana River, a strategic smuggling corridor between the two countries. In a coordinated operation, the Guardia Civil and the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) seized 10,600 kilograms of hashish and arrested 10 people. Officers also confiscated nine vehicles and three firearms. The operation ranks among the largest recent blows against organized crime in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
The investigation, codenamed Tridente, focused on dismantling the group’s logistics. After extensive surveillance, officers moved in on a property in Ayamonte, Huelva, and found a drug storage facility containing 132 bales of hashish weighing 5,280 kilos. Three suspects were detained at the scene. Police also recovered six vehicles, five stolen and modified for concealed transport, along with two loaded firearms: a pistol and an assault rifle. The detainees faced charges of drug trafficking and illegal possession of weapons. The charges also included vehicle theft and document forgery. A judge ordered their immediate pre-trial detention.
Two days later, the investigation led Spanish and Portuguese forces to a second property on the Portuguese side of the river, in an area known for cross-border criminal activity. Officers found another 133 bales of hashish, totaling 5,320 kilos, along with three vehicles, at least one stolen, and a pistol. The suspects initially escaped by boat but were intercepted shortly afterward in a joint deployment, with units operating by land and sea and support from the air. Seven more people were arrested and handed over to Portuguese judicial authorities, who also ordered their provisional imprisonment.
The Guadiana River has become a focal point in the fight against drug trafficking, especially after a fatal incident last October in which a Portuguese officer died and three others were injured when a drug boat collided with them. The latest operation disrupted the group’s storage and distribution network, while drawing attention to the risks law enforcement officers face in the region. The dismantled organization had used the river to move large quantities of hashish for distribution across Europe, including in Spain and Portugal.
Cross-border cooperation has become increasingly impressive as criminal groups adapt their methods. The seizure shows the scale of trafficking through southern Spain and Portugal. Official data identify the region as a primary entry point for hashish into Europe, with traffickers often relying on modified vehicles and river routes to evade detection. The operation follows other high-profile cases, including the recent rescue of a truck driver in Catalonia linked to a missing cocaine shipment, detailed in this report on a kidnapping tied to drug theft in Barcelona. Spanish and Portuguese authorities continue efforts to disrupt organized crime networks and secure border areas vulnerable to trafficking.
