The tug vessel CYCLO 1 departed the Netherlands in the beggining of November 2020 towards the West African coast, and has raised suspicions on the part of the Spanish authorities after passing through the Galician coast, by the absence of commercial activity, as it didn’t have any known charter or towing contracts.
This was the start of Operation Giant, which allowed the ship to be monitored along the route, with the support of MAOC (N).
During that time, the CYKLO 1, sailing under the flag of Belize, stopped in Dakar (Senegal) and then headed for the coast of Morocco, where it was presumably loaded with hashish.
On 30/12/2020 the Spanish Customs (Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera) proceeded to approach and intercept the vessel 180 nautical miles NW of the Canary Islands, and immediately found a large number of bales arranged along the deck. 5 crew members have been arrested, 2 from Bangladesh and 3 from Morocco.
The regional customs surveillance units in Galicia and the Canary Islands took part in Operation Giant, with the collaboration of the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (MAOC-N), the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the French customs authorities.
In 2020 MAOC-N supported 26 successful operations in the Atlantic, leading to the seizure of over 22 tons of cocaine and 67 tons of cannabis.
Video of the boarding operation: https://diariodeavisos.elespanol.com/2020/12/interceptan-al-norte-de-canarias-un-remolcador-con-cerca-de-15-000-kilos-de-hachis/
