In recent days, an operation carried out by the Portuguese Judicial Police (PJ), supported by the Navy, the National Maritime Authority and the Air Force, resulted in the interception of two fishing vessels transporting more than seven tonnes of cocaine. The vessels were intercepted on the high seas, approximately 1,000 nautical miles from Lisbon, with 10 Brazilian nationals on board.
The investigation, coordinated by the Judicial Police’s Unit for Combating Drug Trafficking, was launched on the basis of information provided by MAOC-N, which indicated that two vessels loaded with narcotics were already under way and heading for Europe, specifically towards Portuguese coast.
A wide range of resources from the Navy — forming part of the Naval Component of the Forces System — the National Maritime Authority, the Air Force and officers from the Judicial Police were deployed in this operation, with the objective of intercepting the vessels and preventing the transfer of the bales of cocaine to go-fast vessels.
This successful operation was made possible through extensive collaboration between several partners, including the Brazilian Federal Police, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the US Joint Interagency Task Force West (JIATF West), the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Judicial Police’s Criminal Investigation Department in Madeira.
So far in 2025, MAOC-N member countries have seized more than 84 tonnes of cocaine in operations supported by the Centre.
