Images of the interception of a large shipment of cocaine on a sailing yacht.
A coordinated action between the Guardia Civil, the Customs team of the Tax and Customs Administration and the National Police led to the interception of a 13-metre sailing yacht named ‘Night Falls’, which was sailing under the British flag. The sailing yacht was intercepted about 30 nautical miles off the coast of Santander and was found to have no less than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine on board with an estimated value of 70 million euros.
This successful operation was the result of close international cooperation, with information being exchanged between the MAOC-N (Atlantic Analysis and Operations Centre) and the CITCO (Center for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organized Crime). The three police units, along with the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), worked closely together to track down and intercept the yacht’s suspicious activity.
The investigation began after information indicated the sailing yacht’s possible involvement in illegal drug trafficking from South America. The sailing yacht is said to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean to dock on the Spanish coast. After an extensive search of more than 48 hours, led by the team of the tax authorities, the sailing yacht was located by the patrol vessel ‘Alcaraván I’, based in Santander. On the night of 1 to 2 August, the ship boarded and discovered a considerable amount of bales of cocaine on board.
The suspicious crew of the sailing yacht, consisting of four members – one Spanish, one Colombian and two Venezuelan – was arrested. The sailing yacht and the seized drugs were taken to the port of Santander for further legal proceedings. The operation was directed and coordinated by the National Court’s Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office, and all detainees, the ship and the drugs will be transferred to the relevant Central Investigative Court for further investigation and prosecution.
According to the authorities, this action is an important step in the ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking on the ‘Atlantic Cocaine Route’. This route is known for sailing yachts that transfer the drugs from South America into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to smuggle them into Europe.
