Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• The drugs were located by agents of the National Police and the Customs Surveillance Service and recovered by agents of the Subsoil Unit of the National Police.

• The investigation is motivated as a result of international collaboration and the analysis of vessels suspected of transporting drug shipments from South America to Europe.

May 18, 2022.- Officials of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and agents of the National Police, within the framework of an operation against international drug trafficking, proceeded to seize 150 kilos of cocaine in a Greek-flagged merchant ship that was anchored in the port of Las Palmas.

The investigation is motivated as a result of international collaboration and the analysis of vessels suspected of transporting drug shipments from South America to Europe.

Thanks to the collaboration of the police authorities of the countries of origin and destination, suspicion was able to focus on a merchant ship that had already been controlled in Colombia and Portugal, where other consignments of cocaine were seized.

Agents from the Customs Surveillance Service carried out the technical inspection of the ship, which was anchored in the port of Las Palmas, on May 16.

The Subsoil Unit of the National Police participated during the inspection, with whose technical equipment it was possible to access the anchor well where the drugs were hidden.

Once the drug was extracted, it was weighed, giving a total result of 150 kilos of cocaine.

This new action confirms that the Canary archipelago is a key point in the maritime routes of merchant ships that come from South America and call for technical stops.