Category: Operational

On the 8th of October, Spanish Customs (DAVA), together with the Spanish National Police, carried out a maritime operation to intercept a German flagged sailing vessel suspected of being loaded with a large quantity of cocaine. Despite a challenging a sea state, the Spanish boarding team managed to intercept the target approximately 480 nautical miles…

On the 1st of October, French Customs, with the support of MAOC (N), seized over 1.1 tonnes of cocaine onboard the Liberian flagged merchant vessel TRUDY. Originally coming from Brazil, the vessel called in the Canary Islands before resuming its voyage towards Antwerp, Belgium, where she was to unload a cargo of chalk. The vessel…

A joint operation undertaken by the Brazilian Federal Police and Navy has resulted in the seizure of 632kg of cannabis resin on board a Panamanian flagged sailing vessel, approximately 150 nautical miles off the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. Indications are that the vessel departed from Europe with two Italian crew members, both of…

A joint Spanish operation involving the Guardia Civil, National Police and Customs, successfully identified and intercepted a sailing vessel, approximately 600 nautical miles west of the Canary Islands, loaded with 1,200kg of cocaine destined for Europe. The vessel was sailing without any known flag and, following exchanges with the UK and German authorities, who were…

The fishing vessel was detected during a maritime surveillance mission carried out by the French authorities in the Mediterranean, with no visible external markings on the hull and a course which did not appear to be consistent with normal fishing activity in that area. After an extensive search of the vessel it was possible to…

A joint operation conducted by the UK Border Force and the National Crime Agency (NCA), working closely with the Australian Federal Police and MAOC-N, as resulted in the seizure of 2.370Kg of cocaine destined to Europe. The interdiction of the Jamaican-flagged yacht Kahu, sailing from the Caribbean, took place off the coast of Plymouth (UK),…

On the 30th of August the Italian authorities, supported by intelligence provided by the Spanish and UK authorities, conducted a maritime operation resulting in the seizure of 100kg of cannabis The Bulgarian flagged sailing vessel was intercepted and boarded by the Cagliari Provincial Command of the “Guardia di Finanza” and the two crew members, also…

On 08/08/21, the Spanish National Police in a joint operation with the Customs Surveillance Service (DAVA), and in coordination with the French Customs (DNRED), have intercepted a general cargo vessel about 40 nautical miles southeast of Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. The interception and subsequent deep search revealed 638 bales with a total weight of approximately 20…

The Spanish authorities, in coordination with their Portuguese counterparts, had been investigating this criminal group since 2020, culminating in the interception of the fishing vessel SEEFUCHS, which had been converted several years ago into a rescue and salvage vessel by an NGO operating in the Mediterranean that owned the vessel at the time. Hundreds of…

A joint Spanish operation in the middle of the Atlantic, with the support of the British and French authorities, has resulted in the seizure of 1 ton of cocaine on board a competition sailing vessel. The drugs (1,018 one-kilogram packages of cocaine) were hidden in a double bottom next to the fuel tanks, seen as…