Spanish police seize bumper drugs haul - 09.07.2010

SPANISH police who intercepted a yacht in South Tenerife last week seized a whopping 2,666 kilos of cocaine, bound for Europe.

It was the climax of an operation carried out in Tenerife, Melilla, Malaga and Almeria, and the haul ‒ the largest ever using this route ‒ had come from Colombia, via Morocco.

 

 

Ten people were arrested, including seven Spaniards, one German, one Uruguayan and a Lithuanian. The investigation began at the end of last year when the Guardia Civil examined documents confiscated from other drug-smuggling organisations.

 

 

This led them to discover that a group smuggling drugs between North Africa and Spain planned to transport large quantities of cocaine from South America to Europe, after the ringleader had moved there.

 

 

When he returned to Spain, he was involved in several meetings and trips with other people, and identified part of the Canary Islands where the drugs could be brought into the country.

 

 

He also travelled within Europe to raise funds for his activities, then returned to Spain and contacted the skipper of a boat in Malaga.

 

 

The officers also discovered that several experienced drug-smugglers had been employed to transport the drugs in inflatable boats, from a larger ship where the haul was held.

 

 

Once they discovered which boats were to be used, they put them under surveillance, and boarded them on 28^th June, near Tenerife.

 

 

And while they were uncovering 93 packages of cocaine, premises were searched and suspects arrested in Almeria, Malaga and Melilla.

 

 

The Guardia Civil also confiscated 1,280 kilos of hashish, a yacht, a gun, a money counter, five vehicles, two satellite phones, a GPS device and relevant documents.

 

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