In early December 2022, an operation conducted by the Spanish Guardia Civil has resulted in the interception of a fishing vessel carrying just over 3300kg of cocaine while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel was escorted to Las Palmas, and the three crew members were detained.
According to the Spanish authorities, this operation shows that the African route is being increasingly used to move large quantities of cocaine from South America. Likewise, it is also becoming apparent that Spanish criminal organisations are developing their own infrastructures to support the use of this route and attempt to transport narcotic substances to Spain.
This successful operation was made possible through intensive international cooperation involving several countries and law enforcement agencies, such as the Senegalese authorities, the US Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA), the UK National Crime Agency (NCA), and MAOC-N, as well as the aforementioned Spanish authorities.
Press Release: https://www.guardiacivil.es/es/prensa/noticias/8426.html
