The Spanish Police and Navy intercepted a Panamanian fishing vessel with 4,500 kilograms of cocaine in the Atlantic, 900 kilometers northwest of the Canary Islands. The ship was presumably heading to Galicia, in the northwest of Spain. In the operation carried out at the Naval Base of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, fifteen people were arrested in connection with this illicit cargo.
The investigation began in early November when the U.S. DEA alerted about a possible transfer of cocaine between two ships at sea. The Panamanian fishing vessel in question had previously been sanctioned by Panamanian authorities for serious infractions, having its fishing license revoked. The Spanish Police had already been monitoring the suspicious activities of the vessel in the port of Vigo, Galicia, for possible links to drug trafficking.
The operation to locate the fishing vessel took place in Atlantic waters, 926 kilometers west of the Canary Islands, where it was finally intercepted. With the support of a ship from the Spanish Navy, the Special Operations Group of the Police boarded the vessel, arresting all fifteen crew members and confiscating the one hundred bales of cocaine with a total approximate weight of 4,500 kilograms.
