A Dutch-Moroccan national arrested in the wake of the discovery of a drugs tunnel between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, is one of the leaders of a “very powerful” criminal organisation, the AD reported.

Abdelilah A, nicknamed “el Holandès, who reportedly owned a patisserie, ran the organisation with Moroccan businessman Mustapha Chairi B. or “Amandis’, who is alleged to have family ties with members of Dutch Moroccan crime families.

The tunnel, part of a sophisticated network of fishing vessels, fast boats and trucks used to transport the drugs to Europe, was discovered at an industrial estate in Ceuta in March following an investigation started at the beginning of last year. Another tunnel used by the criminals had been dismantled in February.

Tapped phone conversations between the criminals led police to Abdelilah A, who was involved in the transport of 15,000 kilos of hashish hidden in a consignment of potatoes and watermelons from Tanger to Almería in Spain

He had wanted to stop the transport because he feared a police intervention but “Amandis”, having bribed several policemen, ordered it to go ahead. Police intercepted the truck and made three arrests.

The organisation was “very, very powerful”, head of the Spanish national police drugs squad Antonio Martinez Duarte told El País. They estimate some 2,000 kilos of drugs a week were smuggled through the tunnels.

The raid on the second tunnel resulted in 29 further raids in Ceuta and Spain carried out by 250 police officers who made 27 arrests. Some €1.4 million in cash, 17,000 kilos of drugs, and luxury cars were also confiscated.