The Spanish National Police and the Customs Surveillance Service (Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera) carried out one of the largest maritime drug interdiction operations in recent years.
In the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 650 km off the coast of Cadiz, a fishing trawler flying the flag of one of the West African countries was discovered and detained during a joint operation. Law enforcement officers found 8,240 kilograms of cocaine on board the vessel — a record haul seized on the high seas in the history of Spain’s fight against drug trafficking.
The drugs were packed in 320 waterproof bales weighing a total of more than 8.2 tons. According to preliminary estimates, this shipment could be worth between €420 million and €520 million on the black market.
The peculiarity of the operation was that the smugglers tried to get rid of the cargo by throwing almost all the bales overboard. However, within a few hours, Spanish special services managed to collect a record number of packages from the water using sonar, drones, and boats—more than 95% of the discarded cargo.
“It was like fishing for cocaine in the open ocean. We literally fished the bales out of the water for 14 hours straight,” commented a representative of the Customs Surveillance Service on the operation.
There were seven crew members on board the ship, all of whom have been arrested. Among them are three Spanish citizens, two Colombians, one Senegalese citizen, and one Moroccan citizen.
According to preliminary findings, the drugs were to be transported to Europe via Galicia and Andalusia, the traditional entry points for Colombian cocaine into Spain.
This is currently the largest shipment of cocaine seized at sea by Spanish law enforcement agencies. The previous record (2021) was 6,300 kg.
The operation was codenamed “Atlantikо.” The investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement officials do not rule out that one of the largest Colombian drug cartels is behind this shipment.