Spanish police, with assistance from the naval forces, have intercepted a merchant vessel carrying 6,500 kilograms of cocaine about 600 miles off the Canary Islands, in one of the country’s largest maritime drug busts in recent years.
According to Spain’s Special Operations Group (GEO), the 54-meter-long ship—flying the Tanzanian flag—was heading toward the port of Vigo, in northwestern Spain. The vessel had departed from Cristobal Anch port in Panama, carrying a concealed shipment of narcotics destined for Europe.
The operation was coordinated under the supervision of the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office, and was the result of international police cooperation, particularly with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA had alerted Spanish authorities earlier this month about a criminal network attempting to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine across the Atlantic.
Spanish police successfully located and stopped the ship before it reached European shores, preventing the drugs from entering the continent’s black market.
Authorities have not yet disclosed the number of crew members arrested or the criminal organization involved, but investigations are ongoing to identify the full logistics chain behind the transatlantic trafficking route.
