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SPANISH police dismantled an important drug trafficking organization based in Torremolinos, after seizing 1.6 tonnes (that’s a lot of cocaine) from a sailboat that was intercepted near Azores.
Four people were arrested in the dramatic raid as part of an international criminal network, which used recreational sailing routes to smuggle drugs between Europe and the Caribbean.
This bust follows a recent 1.3-tonne haul on a ship bound for Malaga.
READ MORE On Spain’s Costa Blanca, a key person linked to a record-breaking Cocaine seizure was arrested.
The Danish outfit conducted a complex operation of trafficking using a series of leisure sailboats, which looked like they were traveling the usual route across the Atlantic.
The criminal organisation was first discovered by investigators in March of 2024. Its members were located in Denmark and Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol.
READ MORE As stowaway narcos tried to remove it, police seize 1.3 tonnes cocaine on a Malaga-bound vessel
During the initial investigation, police located one of the organisation’s vessels moored in Portimão, Portugal, and identified key members who travelled from Torremolinos to prepare the boat for its transatlantic journey.
Another vessel was spotted on the French Mediterranean coast in Cap d’Agde.
The gang was forced to use a vessel in Portugal due to technical issues with the boat.
The investigation took a dramatic turn in June 2024 when the sailboat began its journey to Morocco, docking in Tangier for two weeks before heading to Cádiz, where it remained for two months.
During this period, it appears that the crew was only doing maintenance, and waiting for orders from trafficking bosses.
After spending the majority of the summer on Spanish waters, the boat returned to Portugal and was placed in dry-dock. Its crew left it there before travelling to Torremolinos to return to their countries.
READ MORE Watch: Narcos cook millions of dollars worth of cocaine as Spanish police close in on them.
Prosecutors agreed to suspend their investigation pending further developments, as the gang appeared to be inactive and that key members had left Spain.
Early in 2025, the investigation was re-opened by police after they detected new activity.
Gang members returned from Spain and Portugal to reactivate a sailboat that then sailed to Arrecife, a port on the Canary Islands.
The crew, along with other members of the organization, including Torremolinos’ leaders, met there to finalise the preparations for the crossing. Investigators requested that the case be reopened after this development.
Police found that members of the criminal group were frequently traveling to Colombia, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic in order to coordinate cocaine supplies.
READ MORE Spanish police make massive arrests after raiding a drugs lab that produced up to 30 kilos per day of cocaine
The gang took advantage of recreational sailing routes that connected Europe with the Caribbean. They used experienced sailors who exploited hazardous weather conditions so as to avoid law enforcement detection.
The sailboat was in dry dock for a short time at Chaguaramas Port in Trinidad and Tobago. Final preparations were then made before the boat headed to the predetermined location where it would collect a cocaine shipment heading for Europe.
On May 21, the vessel left Trinidadian and, after it was loaded with drugs, headed northwest along a traditional route used by cocaine smugglers traveling from the Americas towards Europe.
The Portuguese Navy seized 1,680 kilograms cocaine and arrested the three crewmembers aboard the sailboat on June 14 near the Azores.
A fourth suspect was subsequently arrested, and police conducted two house searches in Torremolinos, where they recovered more than €63,000 in cash, computer equipment, communications devices and documentation related to the investigation.
READ MORE In Valencia, Spain, Cocaine was found hidden in barrels containing guava pulp.
Another member of the organization who has remained at large is now under international arrest.
This operation, which was conducted by the Spanish National Police, Portugal’s Judicial Police, and Europol with support, is one of the biggest cocaine seizures in recent times.
The operation highlights how criminal networks are exploiting freedom of movement in European and Caribbean ports for the transportation of massive quantities of cocaine.
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