Operation “Hojalata”

 

• The drugs were transported by a converted fishing boat flying the Suriname flag.
• The six crew members of the fishing boat arrested
• This arrest seems to indicate a reactivation of the so-called 'Atlantic Route'

September 23, 2013.- The Tax Agency vessel 'Petrel I' arrived today at the port of Las Palmas after intercepting a fishing vessel with the flag of Suriname when transporting 450 kilos of cocaine.

The operation, called 'Hojalata', began at the end of August. Within the framework of the collaboration between the Customs of Spain and France, an alert was received indicating that a converted fishing vessel was going to cross the Atlantic Ocean with a significant amount of cocaine. The boat would head to a point south of Cape Verde where, presumably, it would transship the cocaine to another boat that, in turn, would transport it to the Canary Islands.

Investigators from the Tax Agency were able to identify a vessel named 'Miss Emaila', a converted 16-metre long fishing boat that had left Suriname and was heading towards the transshipment area. The result of the investigations was communicated to the corresponding court in the Canary Islands, which proceeded to open preliminary proceedings.

The Deputy Directorate of Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency launched the necessary operation to stop the ship with the departure from the port of Las Palmas of the patrol boat 'Petrel I', which headed to the area where the cocaine could be transshipped. .

After more than a week of navigation, it is located in waters near Cape Verde, about 1,600 miles south of the Canary Islands. The ship is boarded on September 7 by officials from the dam crew of the patrol boat 'Petrel I', after the mandatory authorization from the Suriname authorities.

After a brief inspection, some loose pills and a total of 26 bales of those usually used to transport cocaine were located, weighing approximately 450 kilos. At that moment, the six crew members of the fishing boat were arrested, three of Ghanaian nationality, two from Brazil and a sixth from South Africa.

Once the detainees and the fishing boat 'Miss Emaila' have been secured, the patrol boat 'Petrel I' heads to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to place the drugs and the detainees at the disposal of the Investigative Court No. 3 of Las Palmas.

This arrest, along with another made this month in the vicinity of the Azores, and in which Customs Surveillance also participated, seem to indicate a reactivation of the so-called 'Atlantic Route'.

During the last year and due to the notable increase in drug seizures in containers in ports of origin, such as Guayaquil (Ecuador) and Balboa (Panama), an increase in the use of vessels has been detected. They may be sailboats that transport “secret” cocaine and arrive directly at Spanish ports (Azores Route), or “Venezuelan” type fishing vessels that transport cocaine from the mouth of the Amazon or near the coast of Suriname to a point. equidistant between America and Europe, where the drugs are transshipped to other vessels that finally introduce them to Europe (Atlantic Route).