An international anti-drug operation coordinated by Italian authorities has resulted in the seizure of 2.6 tons of cocaine off the coast of Portugal and the arrest of four suspects, including an Albanian national residing in Italy.
The operation, led by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza in cooperation with Spanish and Portuguese law enforcement agencies, intercepted a high-speed “go-fast” vessel in the Atlantic Ocean near the Portuguese coast. On board were two Spanish nationals, one citizen of Gibraltar, and an Albanian living in northern Italy.
According to investigators, the vessel was carrying approximately 2.6 tons of cocaine. The shipment has an estimated wholesale market value of around €78 million. Authorities said that if the drugs had reached their intended destination and been distributed across the illicit retail market, they could have generated profits of up to €500 million.
The investigation was coordinated by prosecutors in Brescia, northern Italy, and involved close cooperation between law enforcement agencies from Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
Authorities said organized crime groups are increasingly relying on high-speed “go-fast” boats to transport large quantities of cocaine across the Atlantic, avoiding major European ports and making detection more difficult.
Europol has previously warned that criminal networks are increasingly shifting cocaine trafficking away from traditional entry points toward more fragmented maritime routes along the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to evade law enforcement.
