The "Pote" operation led to the arrest of the fishing vessel's nine crew members, all of whom are Venezuelan nationals.

The ship with 4,500 kilos of cocaine arrives this Thursday at the port of Las Palmas

EFE The fishing vessel seized with 4,500 kilos of cocaine in its hold on December 16 in the Atlantic waters, will arrive this Thursday at the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, sources from the Delegation of ... reported.

December 21 2005 (23:03 WET)

EFE

The fishing vessel seized with 4,500 kilos of cocaine in its hold on December 16 in the Atlantic waters, will arrive this Thursday at the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, sources from the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands reported.

The ship is scheduled to arrive at the dock of the Naval Base in the capital of Gran Canaria early in the day, after which, a press conference will be held to provide details of the so-called "Operation Pote", which led to the arrest of the fishing vessel's nine crew members, all of whom are Venezuelan nationals.

This drug seizure is the second largest seizure carried out by the Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency in 2005, after the 4,600 kilos that were seized on August 3 in Rotterdam, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The method used by drug traffickers in "Operation Pote" consisted of a fishing-type mother ship departing from the Venezuelan coasts or nearby areas to later, at a point in the Atlantic between the South American and African coasts, transfer the cargo to other vessels that brought the cocaine to the Spanish or African coasts, for subsequent reshipment.

The boarding was done from the Petrel, a special operations vessel of the Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency, and the nine arrested crew members did not offer resistance, although they were carrying two pistols and a shotgun.

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