70% of the marijuana that is smuggled into Europe is brought in through the south of Spain.
This film goes inside the police operation to root out the traffic of marijuana into Spain. We ride along with the customs officers who patrol the Straits of Gibraltar as they chase down the smugglers, and investigate the criminal infrastructure that has been established around this trade.
Marijuana trafficking grew after 1992, when routes previously established by tobacco smugglers were taken over by hashish dealers. It has inevitably led to a rise in organised crime linked to the drug trade. As worldwide economic instability grows, the drug trade expands further, as the money made from this dubious business gets filtered through the legal economy.
We also investigate the problem of marijuana grown within Spain. The Catalan police dismantle an average of two plantations a day. The police, prosecutors and judges work closely together but they lack resources, and the procedural and criminal law make their jobs more difficult.
We hear from those at the heart of the fight against the drug trade.