Madrid – Spanish police said Thursday they had arrested 17 people and seized nearly seven tons of hashish in a sweeping anti-drug operation that began in January in the southern province of Huelva.

The operation was conducted in two phases, police said in a statement. The first was carried out in January with the arrest of eight and the seizure of 5.5 tons of hashish.

The second stage was carried out last month and it led to the arrest of nine people and the seizure of 1.3 tons of the drug.

In both cases the arrests and seizures occurred at sea, where the traffickers where unloading their cargo unto smaller boats to brought to land.

All of those arrested were Spanish nationals.

Spain, with its extensive coastline, is Europe's main point of entry for Moroccan cannabis, from which hashish is produced, and for cocaine from South America, mostly from Colombia, the world's top producer of the drug.

AFP / Expatica