The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, the National Police and the Civil Guard intercepted last February 21 in a joint operation a sailboat that transported 200 kilograms of cocaine in eight bundles. Specifically, it is a boat of eleven meters in length and Venezuelan flag, under the name of Assashio.
After the boarding by the patrol boat Petrel of Customs Surveillance, the arrest of the only crew member, of Portuguese nationality, has been carried out, transferring the cargo to the patrol boat, given the state of deterioration of the sailboat that caused its subsequent sinking.
The narcotic substance was distributed inside the boat without any type of concealment, something logical given its small dimensions. The operation has been the result of international collaboration thanks to intelligence from the Customs Services of France (DNRED) and the DEA of the United States, channeled through the Maritime Anti-Narcotics Analysis Center in the Atlantic (MAOC) and coordinated by the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO).
The operation culminated with the arrival of the Petrel this Wednesday to the port of Vigo, for the unloading of the drug and subsequent transfer of the detainee to the National Court by the Civil Guard, Customs Surveillance and National Police.
Atlantic route
This operation is in addition to those already carried out by the Tax Agency and the Security Forces in the fight against drug trafficking in the so-called Atlantic Route of cocaine, known to be used by fishing boats, merchant ships, semi-rigid boats and, as in this occasion, sailboats from South America and the Caribbean, transfer the narcotic substances in the middle of the Atlantic for their subsequent introduction into the European continent.
The success of this type of action is the result of the collaboration work between several European and national organizations (MAOC, CITCO) and the different police and customs bodies, as well as, in this case, the cooperation of the authorities of DNRED and the DEA.
