A major cocaine smuggling operation that used a network of speedboats to transport drugs from South America to the Canary Islands has been taken down, police have said.
Almost four tonnes of cocaine trafficked from Brazil and Colombia were seized and 48 suspects arrested in raids across Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.
Europol said the gang used speedboats “repeatedly, departing from strategic points in the Atlantic Ocean to a mother ship transporting the cocaine”.
The force also said it had identified a local network in the Canary Islands responsible for distributing the cocaine once it had arrived from South America.
It is not the first time police have intercepted a large amount of cocaine bound for the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory and popular tourist destination lying around 100km (62 miles) off the west African coast.
Authorities have reported the destruction of a significant cocaine smuggling operation that transported drugs from South America to the Canary Islands via a network of speedboats.
During raids throughout Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote, 48 suspects were taken into custody and nearly four tonnes of cocaine trafficked from Brazil and Colombia were confiscated.
In a complicated operation that included using an abandoned wreck at sea as a refueling platform, the gang allegedly used 11 so-called narco boats to smuggle the drugs across the Atlantic, according to Spain’s Policia Nacional.
Planned as Operation Black Shadow, the raids involved police forces from South America, the US, and Europe, including the UK.
One British national was among those arrested, according to confirmation from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
Speedboats were “repeatedly, departing from strategic points in the Atlantic Ocean to a mother ship transporting the cocaine,” according to Europol.
The gang employed “a complex encrypted communications system to evade law enforcement, including the use of satellite terminals, hard-to-trace phones, and a coded language,” according to investigators.
29 properties were searched, 69 vehicles, including boats and jet skis, were seized, and cash and firearms were found during the months-long planning of the raids, according to the police.
Details of the raids highlight the intricate networks used by international drug smuggling organizations to deliver drugs into Europe, a significant market for cartels based in South America.
“One of the largest criminal organizations dedicated to cocaine trafficking has been dismantled,” according to Spanish police.
Additionally, the force claimed to have located a local network in the Canary Islands that was in charge of distributing the cocaine after it had been transported from South America.
Police in Spain released footage of the raids, which showed armed and masked officers searching multiple homes, making arrests, and conducting searches.
Police have previously seized a significant quantity of cocaine that was headed for the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory and well-liked vacation spot located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the coast of west Africa.
In December, authorities declared that they had seized a fishing vessel from Venezuela that was 1,000 miles out at sea.
The ship, which was so run-down that it sank during the towing process to land, was found to be transporting three and a half tons of cocaine.
An NCA spokesperson commented on the most recent raid, saying: “We are unrelenting in our efforts to combat drug trafficking across borders, ensuring it is seized before it reaches the UK criminal supply chain, alongside our international partners. “,”.
