MADRID: Nearly three tonnes of cocaine hidden aboard a fishing boat have been seized off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands, officials said today.
The drugs were stowed in the boat’s fuel tank and five members of the crew – four Turks and a Georgian – were detained during an operation that took place on Wednesday, said a joint statement by the Spanish national police, national guard and the finance ministry.
Authorities were alerted that the “AKT 1” vessel could be carrying drugs by the Lisbon-based MAOC-N international agency that oversees the battle against drug smuggling in the Atlantic.
It was stopped 300 nautical miles south of the Canaries and has been towed to Las Palmas, the statement said.
Spain is the main entry point of drugs into Europe, with marijuana shipments coming from North Africa and cocaine coming from Latin America.