Drug smuggling pilot uses helicopter from Morocco to the Costa del Sol

A HELIPCOPTER pilot has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling drugs from Morocco to Spain in a helicopter. 

Whilst on temporary release from prison, the pilot was arrested for flying a helicopter loaded with 750 kilos of hashish from Morocco to a place near Estepona on the Costa del Sol. 

The pilot was serving the sentence in the seaside city of San Sebastian in Spain’s northern Basque Country. The police have not disclosed what the original sentence was for. 

“The pilot was carrying out a sentence at a correctional centre and took advantage of his weekend furloughs to carry out the drug flights,” said a police statement.

As part of a larger operation police seized 1000 marijuana plants along with 1.5 tonnes of hashish, two helicopters, 15 vehicles and €220,000 in cash.

The south of Spain has a constant flow of smugglers trying to infiltrate the border illegally with contraband from the African continent. 

Last year, about 100 tonnes of hashish was seized by police, which was about a three per cent decrease on the previous year.