The breakdown of a fishing boat transporting 2.7 tons of cocaine heading to the Canary Islands gave room to prepare a police operation that ended with the arrest of ten members of a Venezuelan cartel and the seizure of this consignment of drugs. Everything was prepared for the delivery of the 80 bales of cocaine. Even the speed boats with which to go out to meet the fishing vessel, about 250 nautical miles from Tenerife, and transport the drugs to land. But logistical problems forced the meeting to be delayed between 8 and 10 days. The occupants of the Venezuelan-flagged vessel had to return to repair it and replenish supplies. At that time, the National Police was able to ask the French authorities for collaboration to intercept the fishing boat, and complete an operation that they have carried out jointly with the United States anti-drug agency (DEA).
Agents from the National Police and the DEA were investigating this criminal organization, which had been sending significant quantities of cocaine in fishing vessels from Venezuela since the beginning of the year. The opportunity to surprise them in action came when they learned that they were preparing a trip to the Spanish coast for March, as reported this Tuesday in a statement. They confirmed that the vessel had loaded three tons of narcotic substance and thanks to international coordination and intervention mechanisms, they monitored it.
Small ports
The successful outcome of this operation, named Tunaero, coincides with the publication of the 2024 EU annual drug report, which highlights the six consecutive years of record numbers of cocaine seizures in Europe and places special emphasis on the role that are having small ports for the entry of these substances. According to this work, in 2023 323 tons of cocaine were seized in European ports. Belgium (111 tons), Spain (58.3), and the Netherlands (51.5) represent 68% of the total amount. The largest single seizure of cocaine in Spain occurred precisely in 2023: 9.5 tons of drugs hidden in shipments of bananas from Ecuador.
The 2023 European roadmap against drug trafficking includes measures to strengthen customs risk management and the detection of trafficking in drugs and precursor chemicals. Recently, a European Ports Alliance has been created, a public-private partnership that includes actions to increase the resilience of key logistics centers in Europe to drug trafficking and infiltration by organized criminal groups.
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