- Two Britons arrested, one of them resident in Gibraltar
- The method of dissolving cocaine in liquids is not common for introducing cocaine into Spain by sea

The Tax Agency has seized 50 litres of cocaine hidden in the water deposits of a British sail boat. After more than a year of joint monitoring and investigation by the intelligence services of the United Kingdom and Portugal, the operation, named 'Generalife', culminated in the seizure of the vessel on 20 November in waters near the coast of Huelva. After the judicial register of the vessel, tax agency customs surveillance officials proceeded to arrest two Spanish citizens of British nationality, one of them resident in Gibraltar.

Operation 'Generalife' began at the end of September last year, when customs surveillance officials in Algeciras received news that an operation involving cocaine trafficking could be underway, organised by British subjects in the area of El Campo de Gibraltar.

After the first investigations and surveillances made on the suspects, the tax agency officials were able to confirm that the entry of narcotics in Spain would be carried out through a sloop sail boat measuring 12 meters in length, which was flying under the British flag and was named Poseidon', located in the port of Barbate (Cádiz). Given that the investigation affected British citizens, Soca British (Tax against Organised Crime) was involved from the start. The Portuguese Judicial Police also took part in the control operation.
The sail boat was intercepted on the 20th, when the crew of the special customs operations ship named 'Fulmar' seized the vessel and proceeded to arrest its crewman, F.M.D., of British nationality and resident in Gibraltar. The vessel, escorted by the 'Fulmar' ship, arrived at the port of Algeciras, where proceedings were carried out for its judicial register.

A new method in vessels

After several hours of thorough investigation by customs surveillance officers no cocaine had yet been found, so they decided to inspect the elements on board the sailing boat. This verification began with the revision of the vessel’s water deposits, at which time the detainee claimed that they had been contaminated with seawater.

When applying the drug reagents to the contents of one of them, the test indicated the presence of high-purity cocaine. Once extracted, the total volume of the drug was estimated at approximately 50 litres of cocaine in the form of highly concentrated liquid dissolution.

The dissolution of cocaine in liquids as a method for its illegal entry into Spain is not novel in itself, but it is as a method of concealment in vessels, where offenders usually opt for the double bottom system.

As a result of the investigations, a second British citizen, C.A.P, was subsequently arrested in the United Kingdom. The operation remains open and other arrests may be made in the next few days. The seized drugs, the first person arrested and the vessel seized have already been placed at the disposal of the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 2 of La Línea de la Concepción.