Spain seizes over 15 tons of hashish from ship

Madrid - Spanish police seized 15.7 tons of hashish resin on a merchant ship laden with salt near the southern port of Malaga, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

Three Spanish patrol boats and a helicopter intercepted the ship some 50 nautical miles south of Malaga on Sunday and escorted it to the Mediterranean city's port, the ministry said in a statement.

"After unloading most of the salt that it was transporting, a false bottom was found in the bow of the ship, where the traffickers had hidden the drugs in around 500 bales," the statement said.

The ship's nine crew members, six Syrians and three Indians were taken into custody.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with French and Italian authorities and was coordinated by European police agency Europol.

Spain's proximity to Morocco, the top source of hashish consumed in Europe, have made it the main gateway to the continent for the drug.

The biggest haul of hashish in Spain dates to 2013 when 52 tons were seized from an industrial warehouse in the southern city of Cordoba.