MADRID: Spanish police said Sunday they had broken up a major drugs ring run by a Moroccan known as the “Messi of hashish”, who is now on the run. The operation began in February, when police on the British territory of Gibraltar found a boat that was about to sink with its three crew on board — and 84 bales of hashish. Gibraltar sits off the south coast of Spain at one of the shortest crossing points to north Africa. Since then, Spanish police have arrested 45 people and issued warrants against another 16, including the leader, El Haj.