Spain seizes 30 tonnes of hashish hidden in sailing boats

LAS PALMAS, Spain, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Spanish authorities have seized about 30 tonnes of hashish hidden in four sailing boats, in their biggest drug bust at sea, local authorities said on Wednesday.

Nine Bulgarian and Russian citizens were arrested in the raid.

"The logistical capacity of the Bulgarian criminal organizations' top leaders engaged in drug trafficking in recreational vessels has been hit, preventing new routes from emerging or that they take advantage of the pandemic," police and tax authorities said in a statement.

Earlier this year 4.6 tonnes of hashish were seized in two sailing boats from the same criminal group near the Balearic Islands. (Reporting by Borja Suarez, Writing by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)