SPANISH police have seized more than 30 tonnes of cocaine from a cargo ship off the Canary Islands and detained all 23 crew members without bail in what is being described as Europe’s biggest ever drug bust at sea.
The Guardia Civil confirmed the final weight of the drugs haul found on board the Comoros-flagged Arconian was 30.2 tonnes, packed into 1,279 bales with an estimated value of more than €812 million.
This record-breaking seizure smashes the previous record of 25 tons recovered by German police at the port of Hamburg in June 2024, which was previously the largest in Europe.
It is also more than double Spain’s own previous record of 13 tons, which was discovered hidden in a shipment of Ecuadorean bananas in Algeciras last year.
The ship was intercepted in the early hours of May 2 off the coast of Dakhla in Western Sahara before being escorted into the Port of Las Palmas the following day.
Spanish investigators believe the cocaine was due to be transferred onto high-speed boats at sea before being smuggled into mainland Spain and other parts of the Iberian Peninsula.
The operation involved cooperation between the Guardia Civil, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Dutch police intelligence units.
During the boarding operation, officers arrested 17 Filipino crew members accused of operating the vessel and transporting the drugs.
Six other suspects, reported to be from Angola, the Netherlands and Suriname, were allegedly found hiding on board with rifles, semi-automatic pistols and ammunition to protect the illicit merchandise and prevent its theft.
Spain’s National Court has since ordered all 23 suspects to remain in custody while the investigation continues.
Meanwhile, authorities in Sierra Leone have opened their own investigation into the movements of the Arconian after confirming the vessel had departed from the country with Libya listed as its destination.
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