Walter Finch
SPANISH police have dismantled a major drug trafficking organisation based in Torremolinos after seizing a staggering 1.6 tonnes of cocaine from a sailboat intercepted near the Azores.
The dramatic bust saw four people arrested as part of a Danish criminal network that used recreational sailing routes between the Caribbean and Europe to smuggle drugs.
The bust comes hot on the heels of a 1.3 tonne seizure on a cargo ship heading for Malaga just yesterday.
READ MORE: Key figure linked to record-breaking cocaine seizure is arrested on Spain’s Costa Blanca
The Danish outfit ran a complex trafficking operation using a string of leisure sailboats that appeared to be running the usual transatlantic route.
Investigators first identified the criminal organisation in March 2024, discovering its members were split between Denmark and the Costa del Sol resort town of Torremolinos.
READ MORE: Police seize 1.3 tonnes of cocaine on Malaga-bound ship as stowaway narcos attempted to offload it
During the initial investigation, police located one of the organisation’s vessels moored in Portimão, Portugal, and identified key members who travelled from Torremolinos to prepare the boat for its transatlantic journey.
The criminal network had multiple sailboats at their disposal, with another vessel spotted in Cap d’Agde on the French Mediterranean coast.
However, technical problems with that boat forced the gang to rely on their Portugal-based vessel for the smuggling operation.
The investigation took a dramatic turn in June 2024 when the sailboat began its journey to Morocco, docking in Tangier for two weeks before heading to Cádiz, where it remained for two months.
Throughout this period, the crew carried out only maintenance work, apparently awaiting instructions from the trafficking bosses.
After spending most of the summer in Spanish waters, the vessel returned to Portugal where it was placed in dry dock and subsequently abandoned by its crew, who travelled to Torremolinos before returning to their home countries.
READ MORE: WATCH: Narcos burn boat at sea and cook cocaine worth millions as Spanish cops close in
With the gang’s activities seemingly dormant and key members having left Spain, prosecutors agreed to suspend the case pending new developments.
The investigation was dramatically revived in early 2025 when police detected renewed activity.
Gang members returned to Spain and Portugal to reactivate the sailboat, which then sailed south to the Canary Islands port of Arrecife.
There, the crew met with the rest of the organisation, including the Torremolinos-based leaders, to finalise preparations for the transatlantic crossing. This development prompted investigators to request the case be reopened.
Police discovered the criminal organisation had extensive links with South American drug cartels, with members making frequent trips to Colombia, Brazil and the Dominican Republic to coordinate cocaine supplies.
READ MORE: Police make mass arrests and raid drugs lab producing up to 30 kilos of cocaine per day in Spain
The gang exploited recreational sailing routes between Europe and the Caribbean, using experienced sailors who took advantage of hazardous weather conditions to evade law enforcement detection.
The sailboat spent time in dry dock at Chaguaramas port in Trinidad and Tobago, where final preparations were made before heading to a predetermined location to collect the cocaine shipment destined for Europe.
On May 21, the vessel left the Trinidadian port and, once loaded with drugs, continued northwest along one of the traditional routes used by cocaine smugglers travelling from the Americas to Europe.
The Portuguese Navy intercepted the sailboat near the Azores on June 14, seizing the 1,680 kilograms of cocaine and arresting the three crew members aboard.
A fourth suspect was subsequently arrested, and police conducted two house searches in Torremolinos, where they recovered more than €63,000 in cash, computer equipment, communications devices and documentation related to the investigation.
READ MORE: Smoothie operators: Cocaine base hidden in barrels of guava pulp discovered in Spain’s Valencia
An international arrest warrant has been issued for another member of the organisation who remains at large.
The operation, conducted jointly by Spain’s National Police and Portugal’s Judicial Police with support from Europol, represents one of the largest cocaine seizures in recent months.
The operation highlights the continued use of seemingly innocent recreational sailing to mask major drug trafficking operations, with criminal networks exploiting the freedom of movement between European and Caribbean ports to transport massive quantities of cocaine.
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