A joint operation by the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• The drug was hidden in the submerged part of a merchant ship from Latin America

February 9, 2023.- The Tax Agency and the Civil Guard have intervened on January 22 more than 40 kilos of cocaine hidden in a merchant ship from Brazil that was in the Puerto de la Luz in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The drugs were secured with ropes to one of the hull grates, in the boat's cooling systems.

The action has its origin in a series of indications that led investigators to determine that a goods ship located in the port of La Luz could be transporting a narcotic substance. In that sense, the United States DEA had reported that the ship, coming from two Brazilian ports (Santos and Portocel), planned to continue its destination to Tarragona after completing its refueling and provisioning operations in the port of Las Palmas.

Within a framework of close collaboration between the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard in Las Palmas, an exhaustive analysis of the vessels that matched the verified information was carried out. This meticulous documentary analysis of the vessels coming from these 'hot routes' led to the selection for inspection of two vessels likely to have been used by organizations dedicated to smuggling.

The Civil Guard and the crew of a Customs Surveillance Service vessel identified the occupants of the vessel, inspecting the deck, at which time the Special Group of Underwater Activities (GEAS) of the Civil Guard carried out the two appropriate inspections, locating two suspicious packages in one of the selected vessels, with the added difficulties derived from adverse weather conditions.

The drug stash was secured with ropes to one of the hull grates, in the ship's cooling systems. To prevent them from being sucked in during the journey, several iron weight discs had been attached to them. After being recovered, both packages were transferred to land.

Once at the police station, the appropriate 'narcotest' checks were carried out, resulting in a positive result for cocaine, and the result was a weight of more than 40 kilos, with a value of more than one and a half million euros.

The police investigations in conjunction with the seized substance have been left at the disposal of the Guard Investigative Court of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

This operation is one of the numerous operations that the Customs Surveillance Service and the Civil Guard have been carrying out as a result of their efforts focused on the prosecution of drug trafficking, especially cocaine from Latin America. In the last two months, more than 170 kilos of cocaine have been seized with the same 'modus operandi', the hiding of the drug in the hull of ships that plan to anchor in the port of La Luz.