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Spanish police managed to seize 4.5 tons of cocaine from a cargo ship. PHOTOS/Reuters
MADRID – Police Spanish announced the seizure of 4.5 tons cocaine on board a Togo-flagged cargo ship from Latin America that was intercepted in the Canary Islands, Saturday (28/1/2023).
“Orion V, which had been tailed from Colombia and transported livestock from Latin America to the Middle East, had been under surveillance for more than two years and had previously been examined and searched, but no drugs were found on board, despite sufficient leads,” police said. , as quoted by AFP.
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A joint Navy and air operation finally made a breakthrough in recovering the cocaine, which was estimated to be worth 105 million euros ($114 million). The cocaine was hidden in a container used to feed livestock.
The ship made stops in ports in a dozen countries before raids on Tuesday. Police said drug smugglers started using cattle boats because it was more difficult for police to track their illegal cargo.
“International organizations are turning themselves into transporting drugs from Latin America to Europe, using livestock to complicate control and localization,” said a Spanish police statement.
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The operation was mobilized by the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center for Narcotics (MAOC-N), the Togo authorities and the Spanish police, among others. Officers unloaded dozens of boxes filled with cocaine on the harbor side in Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria.
Orion V is similar to another Togo-flagged ship, “Blume”, which was intercepted in mid-January in the same area southeast of the Canary Islands, where similar amounts of cocaine were found. “A total of nine tons of drugs were seized in January,” police said in a statement.
Spain’s proximity to North Africa, a major source of cannabis, and proximity to former colonies in Latin America, the world’s main cocaine-producing region, have made it the gateway to Europe for the drug.
(esn)
