SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 29th February (EUROPA PRESS) –
Officers from the Civil Guard, in collaboration with the National Police and the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, have intercepted a drug vessel carrying 200 kilos of cocaine en route to the Canary Islands, in the waters near Cape Verde. The two crew members, hailing from South America, have been taken into custody.
The operation was conducted as part of an international crackdown on drug trafficking, with coordination from Ameripol and the US agency DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), involving the Spanish Navy as well as authorities from Brazil and France.
The investigation was launched last year, following intelligence received through international police channels about members of a criminal organization arriving in Spain to establish contacts in the Canary Islands for importing cocaine hydrochloride.
Initial police efforts led to the identification of the individual set to command the operation in Gran Canaria to charter a sailboat from South America. Subsequent actions were coordinated via the liaison officer in Ameripol. Multinational efforts in various countries, primarily Brazil but also Colombia and Uruguay, aided by the Spanish National Police and French authorities, led to the identification of several key members of the criminal organization at its source.
The captain of the vessel, a French national with links to the Canary Islands, was identified, along with a nearly 19-meter sailing vessel flying a Polish flag. Further investigations revealed the transfer of the individual under investigation – a native of the Canary Islands and head of the Spanish group set to receive the cocaine – to Brazil to personally oversee and coordinate the smuggling of the narcotics by sea. The two individuals departed Brazil and began their voyage towards the Spanish coasts.
The National Police, in collaboration with the Spanish Navy, organised a maritime operation to locate the vessel. The operation concluded with the interception of the sailboat under safe conditions by the Special Operations Group (GEO), with participation from Civil Guard agents and officials from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, who discovered numerous concealed packages of cocaine on board.
The mission concluded with the arrest of the two crew members and their transfer, along with the sailboat, to the Canary Islands for further investigation. The dismantling of a criminal group specialising in smuggling and distributing large quantities of cocaine into Europe via the Canary Islands marked a significant breakthrough. However, the investigation remains ongoing and further arrests have not been ruled out.
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