• The drugs were hidden in the containers that the ship's crew used to deposit the waste from the trip.

• The operation has been carried out by the Risk Analysis Unit of the Regional Customs and IIEE Unit of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, made up of Customs Surveillance officials and Civil Guard agents.

October 20, 2023.- Customs Surveillance Officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the Civil Guard, in a joint operation, have seized 950 kilos of cocaine that were traveling in Santa Cruz de Tenerife hidden on a ship from Brazil.

As a result of the merchandise control tasks carried out by the Risk Analysis Unit of the Regional Customs and IIEE Unit of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the merchandise and cargo rolled on a ship, originating in Rio de Tenerife, were inspected. Janeiro (Brazil) and destination Antwerp (Belgium), which had docked on October 7 at the Santa Cruz de Tenerife dock.

As a result of the inspection, which was carried out jointly by officials from the Combined Customs Surveillance Unit and by agents from the Fiscal Protection and Border Section of the Civil Guard of the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, it was located inside three containers a series of suspicious packages that could contain narcotic substances. These containers were used by the ship's crew to deposit the waste generated during the trip, and were to be unloaded by a waste removal company that is in charge of this service.

When inspecting the containers, 65 packages of different sizes were detected inside. Once the narco test was carried out, the agents verified that they were packages of cocaine, weighing approximately 950 kilos.

The ship had been making a route through different ports in South America and the stop prior to Rio de Janeiro was in the Brazilian port of Santos. There, Brazilian authorities surprised an individual trying to hide 350 kilos of cocaine in the engine of a truck that was inside the ship and the waste containers were emptied. Subsequently, the ship headed to Rio de Janeiro and from there it left for Tenerife.

The facts were brought to the attention of the Investigating Court acting as guard of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.