The Tax Agency, in collaboration with the Civil Guard and the National Police, has seized a fishing vessel flying the flag of Mongolia carrying nearly 15 tons of hashish. The boarding of the vessel, named 'Odyssey 227', was carried out by the 'Sacre' patrol boat of the Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency about 30 miles east of Fuerteventura, in international waters
The fishing vessel was the subject of an investigation carried out by the Maritime Investigation Office of Customs Surveillance in Galicia, the National Police and the Civil Guard, and the boarding was carried out after submitting a request to the consular authorities of Mongolia, in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention of the United Nations against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs.
"The poor condition of the sea and the very nature of the operation created a situation of extreme difficulty when, during the assault, the head of the Crew of the 'Sacre' patrol boat fell into the water, who was immediately rescued by his companions, continuing with the mission", they point out from the Government Delegation.
The four crew members have been arrested on board the fishing vessel; the captain, of Italian nationality, and the chief engineer and sailors of Senegalese nationality. The fishing vessel, together with the seized drug and the four crew members, have been escorted to the port of Las Palmas, where it arrived at around five o'clock this Tuesday afternoon.
Previous investigation
The investigation, coordinated by CITCO (Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime), allowed this vessel to be identified for its "suspicious navigation", ordering this intervention "due to the strong indications that the fishing vessel was loaded with narcotic substances".
"The Maritime Investigation Offices, created by the Tax Agency in all the Special Delegations with coast, are developing new investigation tools to counteract the increase in drug trafficking by sea, both hashish and cocaine, which has been detected in recent years. These offices analyze the traffic and routes of fishing vessels and merchant ships in risk areas to detect possible illegal operations", they emphasize from the Government Delegation.
In addition, they point out that "in recent times there has been a significant change in the routes of hashish trafficking of Moroccan origin". "The traditional 'eastern Mediterranean' route, with loads off the Mediterranean coast of Morocco and transfer of the narcotic substance presumably to Libya, has been significantly reduced, being replaced by a new route, the so-called 'Atlantic hashish route', which is characterized by loads of the narcotic substance off the Moroccan Atlantic coast and its transfer by boats with a presumed destination to Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Senegal, etc., where it would be landed for subsequent transfer by land, crossing the African continent along the Sahel route, with a presumed destination to Libya and subsequent entry into the European continent", they specify.
Intelligence indicates that this new 'Atlantic hashish route' arises as it is considered by organizations to be a safer route than the old 'eastern Mediterranean' route, where "the Italian, French and Spanish authorities have carried out multiple seizures".
