Spanish Police Seize 17 Tons of Hashish in Sophisticated Ceuta-Morocco Narco-Tunnel

Spanish police dismantled one of the country's largest hashish trafficking networks on Tuesday, announcing the discovery of a sophisticated underground tunnel connecting the Spanish enclave of Ceuta with Morocco, concealed behind a soundproofed refrigerator in an industrial warehouse. The Spanish National Police described the structure as a "luxury" narco-tunnel equipped with rails, wagons, forklifts, cranes, and pulleys — an engineering feat designed to move hashish between two countries without direct visual contact between traffickers. The operation, which involved 250 (officers) — police officers deployed in the operation across multiple phases and cities in Spain, resulted in 29 arrests and the seizure of more than 17 tons of drugs, 1,430,000 euros in cash, and 15 luxury vehicles. Authorities declared they had dismantled what they called "the network of hashish networks."

Three-level tunnel hidden behind a refrigerator The tunnel was located beneath an industrial warehouse in the Tarajal industrial estate, its entrance concealed behind a large, soundproofed refrigerator. Once agents moved the refrigerator, they found a three-level underground structure: a descent shaft leading agents downward, an intermediate chamber used to store bales of hashish stacked on pallets before extraction, and a final passage connecting directly to Moroccan territory. According to the National Police, the tunnel measured 19 meters deep, 1.20 meters high, and 80 centimeters wide. The organization had installed pumping and soundproofing systems to keep the infrastructure operational without raising suspicion among neighbors or authorities. Video footage released by police showed agents sliding down the descent shaft and navigating the underground passages, with one officer heard saying the structure was "a very prepared, very conditioned narco-tunnel." Authorities noted the tunnel is partially flooded and are still working to remove water before its full dimensions can be determined.

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A 'narco-architect' in Morocco led the dual-country network The criminal network was led by two individuals operating on opposite sides of the border. The leader based in Morocco was described by police as the "narco-architect" and the "boss of the tunnels," and is also suspected of being responsible for a separate tunnel between Morocco and Ceuta discovered the previous year. The leader on the Spanish side was identified as the owner of all the drugs seized during the operation. The investigation lasted more than one year after police first identified the organization in February 2025, tracking a group that used high-speed vessels to move hashish from Ceuta to mainland Spanish territory. Operations unfolded across several phases and multiple cities throughout Spain before culminating in the arrests and the tunnel's exposure. Police described the network's structure as allowing hashish to be transferred between Morocco and Spain without any direct visual contact between participants at different stages of the supply chain.

Ceuta's position as a Spanish enclave on the African continent, sharing a land border with Morocco, has made it a persistent focal point for drug smuggling into Europe. The territory's border fence, designed to prevent illegal crossings, has historically been circumvented by traffickers using tunnels, speedboats, and other methods. According to the source articles, this is the second narco-tunnel of its kind discovered connecting Ceuta and Morocco within barely a year, with the previous tunnel also linked to the same suspected Moroccan organizer.

Seizures totaled 17 tons of drugs and millions in assets The scale of assets seized across the investigation's multiple phases underscores the network's financial reach. Police confiscated more than 17 tons of drugs, 1,430,000 euros in cash, and 15 luxury vehicles. The tunnel's industrial-grade equipment — including a rail system with wagons, forklifts, cranes, and pulleys — indicated significant capital investment in the smuggling infrastructure. Authorities characterized the engineering as work "characteristic of perfectly designed engineering works," comparing the tunnel's maze-like interior to the structure of a mine. The operation's conclusion marks what Spanish police called the dismantling of one of the largest hashish distribution networks in the country.