Spanish police seize hashish, arrest 42 in drug operations Spanish police say they have seized 3.25 metric tons (3.64 short tons) of hashish in two major operations against drug-trafficking across the Strait of Gibraltar

MADRID -- Spanish police say they have seized 3.25 metric tons (3.64 short tons) of hashish in two operations against drug trafficking across the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Guardia Civil says in a statement Monday that police made 42 arrests and broke up what they believed to be one of most important drug smuggling gangs operating between Spain and North Africa.

Five boats and five vehicles used by the alleged gang were seized.

The arrests were made in Cadiz and Malaga, on Spain's southern coast, and in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, east of Tangier.

The statement gave no details about the nationalities of those arrested nor when the operations happened.

Boat trips across the Strait of Gibraltar can be as short as 9 miles (14 kilometers) from Morocco to Spain.