Uruguayan detained with 2,500 kg of cocaine on yacht intercepted off Spain
A Polish-flagged yacht was intercepted 400 miles from Vigo with 2.5 tonnes of cocaine. Among the four crew members detained are a Uruguayan and an Albanian.
Operation Doncella: yacht with 2.5 tonnes of cocaine intercepted in the Atlantic
A Uruguayan citizen is among four crew members detained following the seizure of 2,500 kilogrammes of cocaine aboard the yacht Seute Deern, intercepted approximately 400 miles from the Galician coast, according to carasycaretas.com.uy. The other crew members are Argentine, Colombian and Albanian nationals.
The vessel, 15 metres in length and flying a Polish flag, was intercepted by the Special Operations Ship Petrel I, belonging to Spain's Customs Surveillance Service (SVA). The drugs were distributed in 78 packages which, according to authorities, were transferred at sea from a South American mother ship in the mid-Atlantic.
The yacht was sailing with its AIS transponder deliberately switched off in an attempt to evade maritime detection systems.
International coordination and ringleader arrested in Girona
The operation, named Doncella and directed by the Spanish National Court, was coordinated with the French Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (DNRED) and the Maritime-Narcotics Analysis and Operations Centre (MAOC-N).
In addition to the four yacht crew members, security forces subsequently arrested an alleged ringleader of the organisation in Girona, bringing the total number of those detained to five.
The investigation, conducted by the SVA unit in Girona, began in February when intelligence identified a sailing vessel between 13 and 15 metres long that was believed to have taken part in an illicit operation in the border zone between Spain and France. In July, officers succeeded in identifying the Seute Deern as the yacht that matched the risk factors analysed using maritime surveillance technology tools.
The alleged owner of the vessel also had a criminal record for theft and robbery with violence, which guided the investigation from its earliest stages.
The "Atlantic cocaine route"
The operation is part of the fight against drug trafficking via the so-called Atlantic cocaine route, used by sailing vessels from South America that carry out transfers in the middle of the ocean to introduce drugs into Europe.
The pattern of conduct identified points to the modus operandi of a criminal group specialised in transporting narcotics using recreational vessels flying the flags of certain countries, which offer their services to various criminal organisations in the Balkans.
To investigate the ownership of the vessel and identify more persons involved, the investigative team requested collaboration from Polish authorities through the Centre for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO).
Legal status
The five detainees face charges of alleged offences of membership of a criminal organisation, smuggling and offences against public health. The National Court will conduct the questioning of the accused and resolve their legal status in the coming hours.
The investigation remains open and authorities do not rule out further arrests.
Source: Google News UY — Crime