US EditionRecord cocaine seizure made by Spanish police off coast of Western Sahara
A union said the haul could reach 40 tonnes, as officers arrested about 20 people and kept the probe under legal secrecy.
- On Friday, the Spanish Civil Guard intercepted a 295-foot freighter in international waters off the Canary Islands, discovering a potentially historic haul of up to 40 tons of cocaine aboard the vessel.
- Registered in the Comoros Islands, the ship had departed Freetown, Sierra Leone, bound for Benghazi, Libya, with AUGC sources suggesting the cargo was intended for European distribution via smaller vessels.
- Some 23 people, including Filipino, Angolan, and Dutch nationals, were arrested during the operation. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters the seizure "was one of the biggest, not only nationally but internationally."
- Spain, long a gateway for Latin American cocaine and Moroccan cannabis into Europe, has logged a series of major maritime busts, including 13 tons in 2024 and 10 tons in January.
- The investigation is currently proceeding under legal secrecy in the Canary Islands, and the Civil Guard has not yet officially confirmed all details of the operation.
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It is one of the largest quantities ever detected internationally.
Algemeen Dagblad
Spanish police discovered a staggering amount of cocaine on Friday on a ship intercepted off the coast of the Canary Islands. It involves the largest shipment ever seized at sea: between 30 and 45 tons of cocaine. Several Dutch nationals were arrested during the operation.
The lot can be as large as 40 tons.
Spanish police have intercepted tens of thousands of kilos of cocaine south of the Canary Islands. According to the Guardia Civil, there were between 30,000 and 45,000 kilos of drugs on board: a record seizure. Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska speaks of "one of the most important drug seizures," not only nationally but also internationally. The ship had departed from Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, on April 22 and was bound for Benghazi …
Spain Seizes Record Cocaine Haul at Sea
Spain has just pulled in what could be its biggest cocaine haul ever. A Civil Guard operation intercepted a ship in international waters off the Canary Islands on Friday and hauled it to port in Las Palmas, where officers found the hold packed with drug bales that could total up...
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