Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
A ‘NARCO submarine’ carrying 6.6 tonnes of cocaine has been intercepted en route to Spain’s Andalucia.
The ship, believed to be the largest narco-sub ever built, was heading to Sevilla’s Guadalquivir River.
The vessel was stopped 500 miles south from the Azores islands. It was a joint police operation by Spanish and Portuguese officers.
According to Spanish forces the ship carried 6.6 tonnes cocaine, and it was managed by 5 people. One of these was reportedly from Sevilla.
They have all been arrested by Portuguese forces and are being held on São Miguel Island, Portugal.
Operation ‘Natutilus’ marks the first time a submarine has been intercepted on the high seas.
Information shared by the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre-N (MAOCN) between the Portuguese authorities, UK’s National Crime Agency and USA’s Drug Enforcement Administration was used to carry out the mission.
The drugs are believed to have been picked up near the Portuguese coast by speedboats.
Submarines, which are difficult to detect and capable of carrying large amounts of cargo, are increasingly used for drug trafficking.
The authorities can also sink the ship if they are caught by the traffickers.
According to the Guardia Civil, the submarine came from Brazil with an ‘undetermined’ amount of cocaine.
It is a follow-up to the Central Operative Unit’s Anti-Drug Group’s creation of the Maritime Intelligence Team, which was designed to identify drug trafficking activities heading towards Spain and to dismantle them.
Together with the Guardia Civil Regional Centre for Analysis and Intelligence, they are fighting drug traffickers.
