Expatica news

Man runs red light, caught with half million euros in drugs

Spanish police have detained a Moroccan man who was caught with over 400 kilos of hashish worth half a million euros in his van after he was stopped for running a red light, they said Sunday.

Police ordered the 36-year-old to stop driving after they saw him drive through a red light on Tuesday in the Madrid suburb of Fuenlabrada.

“When the driver got out of the vehicle, he immediately began to run and was chased by the police who were able to capture him,” it said.

Police then searched the van, finding 406 kilos (895 pounds) of hashish with a street value of up to 566,000 euros ($720,000). They also found a knife and a list of several possible buyers for the drugs.

Spain is the main gateway into Europe for hashish from neighbouring Morocco, and the police regularly make large seizures.

Last week Spanish police said they had smashed a ring that smuggled hashish from Morocco to several European nations, mainly France and Italy, with the arrest of 53 people and the seizure of 3.5 tonnes of the drug.