MADRID: Authorities in Spain say they have seen a marked increase in maritime seizures of South American cocaine destined for Europe in the past two years, highlighting the importance of this simple but efficient drug trafficking method.
Spanish authorities told El Confidencial that maritime drug shipments “have multiplied considerably” in the last two years, with most coming from Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and the Caribbean.
Indeed, in just the past two months, the anti-drug and organized crime unit of Spain’s police, in partnership with other anti-narcotic agencies, has seized nearly nine metric tons of Spain-bound cocaine.
The amount was collected during three separate operations. The first took place on May 4 and led to the seizure of approximately 2.4 tons of cocaine in the Atlantic Ocean aboard a Venezuelan fishing boat.
The second — and largest — took place on May 15, when over 5.5 tons of cocaine were seized aboard a cargo ship in Ecuador’s national waters. According to Spanish authorities, who coordinated the operation with Ecuador’s police, the ship was due to cross the Panama Canal before heading to Spain.
The latest incident took place on June 4, when 1.2 tons of cocaine were seized aboard another Spain-bound Venezuelan ship sailing on the Atlantic.
Spain’s Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido stated that the recent seizures “show that the fight against drug trafficking and the international organizations that bring drugs from Latin America to Spain is yielding results.”
“We shall not stop until we dismantle all groups trying to smuggle narcotics into Spain,” he added.
