An abandoned zodiac inflatable was discovered yesterday by Guardia Civil officers on the beach near the Granadilla Industrial Park containing 40 bales of hashish.

It is thought that the inflatable came ashore in the early hours but a patrol boat had scared off the smugglers. They abandoned the inflatable as well as the 1,000 kg of hashish it contained.

Drug traffickers regularly use the sea route between Africa and Tenerife as a stepping stone to get their illegal cargo into mainland Europe.