Spain's National Police seized 4.3 tons of marijuana hidden in the cabins of a rescue ship, and arrested 18 drug traffickers, the nation's Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry said police intercepted the ship on its return from Morocco with the help of the Customs Vigilance Directorate, capturing 15 Spaniards, a Colombian, a Romanian and a Moroccan.

Police then raided their houses in Barcelona and Valencia, seizing 13,000 euros in cash, two kg of cocaine and four rubber boats.

The police began their investigation in January, when they first discovered that a gang of drug traffickers would ferry drugs from Morocco to Ibiza, a Spanish island in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Source: Xinhua