Spanish police have made their biggest cannabis seizure to date, with part of the shipment reportedly destined for a number of European countries, including Belgium.
The Spanish Civil Guard announced on Sunday evening that a total of 32 tonnes of cannabis had been seized in the cities of Toledo, Valencia, Asturias and Ciudad Real.
The authorities say this is the largest cache of packaged cannabis found to date, not only in Spain but internationally, with the equivalent of 1.1 million cannabis plants seized.
The Guardia Civil explains that the criminal operation was overseeing a commercial network of vacuum-packed cannabis, which would then be transported in packages across Spain and to other European countries, including Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands.
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Twenty people, nine men and eleven women between the ages of 20 and 59, were arrested in the Spanish police operation.
Each year, some 22 million cannabis users spend the equivalent of 9 billion euros on the drug, according to Interpol data, making this the largest illicit drug market in the EU.
In Brussels, Mayor Philippe Close is a proponent for decriminalisation of the soft drug, arguing it would take the trade out of the hands of organised crime and traffickers.
