An international operation carried out in the last days in international waters by the Senegalese Navy, has resulted in the seizure of 3 tonnes of cocaine on board a fishing vessel.
Information had been gathered by several international partners indicating that a transhipment between two vessels was about to take place on the high seas, involving significant quantities of cocaine. The capabilities and readiness of the Senegalese Navy made it possible to intercept the daughter-vessel, which had allegedly received the illicit cargo from another vessel coming from South America. Once inside the fishing vessel, the Senegalese authorities found several bales of cocaine, totalling 3000 Kg.
The crew, composed of citizens of Venezuela, Guinea and Senegal, has been arrested and will be handed over to the competent judicial authorities in Dakar.
This is the second major seizure carried out by the Senegalese authorities in the space of three weeks, which confirms the growing importance of the African route in the context of maritime drug trafficking destined for Europe. So far this year, MAOC-N has supported several operations in the area extending from Senegal/Cape Verde all the way to the Gulf of Guinea, resulting in the seizure of 27.7 tons of cocaine.
