Drug trafficking invades Portuguese coast: 435 kg of cocaine and AK47s seized in five days
Maritime Police, GNR and PJ intercepted six high-speed vessels and seized 435 kg of cocaine in less than a week. Shortage of resources complicates the fight against maritime drug trafficking.
Trafficking speedboats multiply along 1230 kilometres of coast
Correio da Manhã reports that Portuguese authorities have seized at least six vessels used by traffickers over the past week, a tally that highlights the growing scale of maritime drug trafficking along the national coast.
Two fast boats were intercepted on the Guadiana, two in Tavira and four at the Berlengas islands — although only one was actually captured. The operations also resulted in the seizure of 435 kilogrammes of cocaine, more than five thousand litres of fuel stored in jerry cans and several AK47 machine guns. The tally covers only five days of joint operations by the Maritime Police, the GNR and the Judicial Police.
Record seizures in 2024
Data from the Judicial Police confirm that this year a national record for cocaine seizures has been broken, with more than 30 tonnes confiscated. The Maritime Authority, by the end of October, had already seized 20 high-speed vessels, 16,000 kilogrammes of drugs and 101,000 litres of fuel — figures that reinforce the trend of the Portuguese coast being used as a gateway for drugs into continental Europe.
Trafficking networks operate primarily with cocaine and hashish, introducing the substances into the European continent via the Portuguese coastline. The length of the coast — approximately 1230 kilometres — and the superior speed of drug smuggling boats compared to the resources available to the security forces constitute structural advantages for the traffickers.
Scarce resources, traffickers heavily armed
Police sources quoted by Correio da Manhã lament the insufficiency of resources to deal with this new reality. The security forces face faster vessels and heavily armed crews who, according to the same sources, "have nothing to lose".
Logistical support on land is also not slowing down. Daily fuel seizures reveal an active and organised supply chain. Police sources publicly question how it is possible for someone to fill 100 or 200 containers of 25 litres at a petrol station without anyone reporting it — and criticise the fact that current law leaves free those caught in possession of jerry cans intended to refuel the drug smuggling boats.
In the early hours of Saturday, the GNR of Trafaria seized 2100 litres of petrol and a vehicle. The group was unloading fuel containers when it was surprised — the four men fled without taking anything, leaving at the scene 70 cans of 30 litres each.
Moroccan missing after falling overboard in Tavira
A 32-year-old Moroccan citizen fell from a high-speed boat on Wednesday, during storm Charles, in the Tavira area. The vessel was eventually swept to the Cabanas area. Since then, the Maritime Authority has been conducting searches for the man, which by the past Saturday had produced no results.
Source: Correio da Manhã