Interior confirms: Largest cocaine haul in history intercepted near the Canary Islands

The Arconian vessel, flying the flag of Comoros, was intercepted by the Civil Guard with 30 tons of cocaine in the middle of the Atlantic, off the coast of Western Sahara and near the Canary Islands, on May 1st. According to the Ministry of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and as reported by the Efe Agency, this is the largest cocaine haul in history intercepted worldwide in a single police operation. 

Marlaska has delved this Friday into the operations christened Alfa-Lima and Abisal and has pointed out that they "anticipate a change in focus to address the fight against drug trafficking". At the same time, he reported that the armed institute neutralized six occupants of the boat, who were equipped with MP4 assault rifles and Glock pistols, and who were in charge of guarding the drugs.

Last January, agents of the National Police, soldiers of the Spanish Navy, and personnel from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) detected another vessel, the United S, flying the flag of Cameroon, which was boarded in the Atlantic with almost ten tons of cocaine. It was then classified as the largest cocaine haul intercepted in Europe. Only four months later, this record was tripled.

So far this year, around 41 tons of cocaine have been seized in the Atlantic in these two operations. The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, presented this Friday the results of the two "macro-operations" developed in the Atlantic Ocean in a press conference in which he highlighted the "forceful and decisive strategic advance against transnational organized crime" that these two blows to drug trafficking have represented. 

In addition to cocaine, the operations have seized 8.5 tons of hashish and around 72,000 liters of gasoline, about twenty maritime vessels, vehicles, and weapons. Furthermore, 77 people have been arrested for these operations.

The National Court was in charge of carrying out the police operation against the ship Arconian. It was also the one that managed the operation against the United S. The vessel seized in May was apprehended when it was heading from Sierra Leone to Libya. It was the Ahumada ship, the vessel of the armed institute, that approached the ship. 

Abyssal Operation: 30 tons of cocaine destined for the Netherlands

According to what Marlaska reported this Friday, the ship Arconian set sail from the coasts of West Africa, although the origin of the cocaine would be another, which has not been specified by the head of the Interior. In this regard, he added that behind this drug trafficking operation would be the Dutch Mocro Maffia, which promotes the entry of drugs into Europe. 

Furthermore, he has added that behind these drug trafficking operations there is not a "single organization", but rather that "they are distinct criminal organizations that are fundamentally dedicated to the introduction of large quantities of cocaine". Thus, he has indicated that in Spain there are no "networks of this type" infiltrated.