Watch: Four Tons of Cocaine Seized from Vessels Off the Canary Islands

Nearly four tons of cocaine were seized and 16 people arrested from a a pair of vessels off the coast of the Canary Islands.

The major drug bust was a collaborative effort involving both French and Spanish customs under the authority of the Atlantic maritime prefect, in conjunction with the public prosecutor in Brest. The month-long mission involved customs officers on the Beechcraft KA350 aircraft, the patrol vessel Jean-François Deniau, and the Spanish customs patrol vessel Petrel.

The first seizure occurred on September 26. On board an unflagged fishing vessel, over 480 kilometers northwest of the Canaries, French and Spanish customs officers discovered 20 bales totaling 589 kilos of cocaine hidden in fishing equipment. The six crew members were arrested.

A week later, on October 3, French and Spanish authorities intercepted a 70-meter cargo ship in the open sea. This check was motivated by the ship's behavior at sea and its trajectory, as it was heading towards the Iberian Peninsula from the Gulf of Guinea without a logical commercial purpose. Despite challenging weather conditions, the French patrol vessel and aircraft assisted the Spanish customs to intercept the cargo about 300 kilometers off the coast of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands. In total, 150 bales of cocaine weighing 3.281 tons were discovered in a technical compartment, and the ten crew members were arrested.

The suspected drug traffickers and 3.87 tons of cocaine were handed over to the Spanish authorities, who are responsible for the judicial follow-up of the two cases.

According to French customs, drug trafficking routes coming from South and Central America and heading to the European continent, sometimes transiting through West Africa, are becoming increasingly busy. In 2023, French customs intelligence led to the seizure of 40 tons of cocaine by foreign services. In the national territory, cocaine seizures amounted to 12 tons.