2.1 tonnes of cocaine seized on vessel off Galicia – four arrests
Spanish authorities seized a vessel carrying approximately 2.1 tonnes of cocaine around 650 kilometres from the coast of Galicia. Four crew members were detained.
Vessel with 2.1 tonnes of cocaine seized off north-western Spain
Spanish authorities seized a vessel transporting 2.1 tonnes of cocaine at a distance of approximately 650 kilometres from the coast of Galicia, in the north-western part of the country, according to In.gr.
The four crew members — nationals of Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and Albania — were detained, according to an announcement by the Spanish tax and customs authority (Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria / AEAT). A fifth member of the gang was arrested in Girona, near Barcelona.
The vessel, a sailing boat 14 metres in length flying a Polish flag, was towed to the port of Vigo. According to AEAT, it had been under surveillance since July, when it departed from a marina in Girona, in the north-eastern corner of Spain, near the border with France.
The Spanish authority assessed that the incident was connected to a criminal organisation specialising in the trafficking of drugs via recreational vessels and offering its services to networks in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The authorities did not clarify the origin of the drugs, nor the location and time of their loading onto the vessel.
The operation also involved French customs authorities, police from Poland and Britain, as well as the United States drug enforcement service (DEA).
Source: In.gr