Operation “Fokke” against drug trafficking

• The drugs occupied all possible spaces inside the boat, including the gaps under the beds and the floor of the cabins.
• The sailboat was at high risk of sinking due to carrying a very high number of packages for its characteristics.
• Three crew members, two men and a woman, of Dutch nationality, arrested

September 14, 2015.- The Tax Agency intercepted in the early hours of September 12, about 50 nautical miles southeast of Cabo de Gata, Almería, a sailboat carrying an estimated quantity of 10,000 kilos of hashish. The Dutch-flagged sailboat named “Mirca” had previously been lightened by two semi-rigid boats. Its three crew members, of Dutch nationality, have been arrested.

The operation, called “Fokke”, began on September 11 when a plane from the Tax Agency, on a surveillance mission in the Alboran Sea, detected two semi-rigid boats from Morocco, which approached a sailboat and came alongside it, unloading suspicious packages. Once the receiving ship has the merchandise on board, it begins its journey towards the Eastern Mediterranean.

Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency proceeded to organize an air-naval operation to monitor and detain the suspicious sailboat with the participation of the patrol boat “Décimo Aniversario” and the helicopter “Argos-I”. The patrol boat reached the sailboat at 03:25 on 12 September, about 50 miles southeast of Cabo de Gata, boarding it with the support of the helicopter.

High risk of sinking

As soon as the officers boarded the ship, they observed that all the compartments and spaces of the sailboat were filled with bales of hashish, including the saloon, cabins, etc. The large amount of cargo exposed the sailboat to the risk of sinking in the event of any adversity. On board the sailboat, flying the Dutch flag, were two men and a woman, all of Dutch nationality, who have been arrested and charged with a possible crime of smuggling and against public health.

Since the operation was carried out in international waters, the National Court's public prosecutor's office has filed a complaint with the Investigative Court No. 5 of the National Court, where the relevant proceedings are being processed. The registration of the sailboat was carried out in the presence of the clerk of the court on duty in Almería, after having previously obtained authorization from the authorities of the country of flag.

This operation brings the 14th seizure of large quantities of hashish by the Tax Agency on the 'Eastern Mediterranean Route' since May 2013, with a total of more than 125 tons of drugs seized.

Open route of the Eastern Mediterranean

This new operation confirms the importance of this new route opened for hashish trafficking, known as the 'Eastern Mediterranean'. In the last year and a half, Italy, France and Spain have seized the vessels 'Adam', 'Gold Star', 'Luna-S', 'Moon Light', 'Avenir de Safi II', an unnamed Egyptian fishing vessel, the 'Berk Kaptan', 'Al Amir Khaled', 'Abou de Sherief', 'La Misericordia de Dios', 'Mayak', 'Assel', 'Aberdeen', 'Just Noran', 'Zakmar', 'Eiskos', 'Rinad', 'Santa Rita Terzia', 'Mehtap' and 'Santa Trela' (14 of which were carried out by the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service).

All of these vessels were carrying quantities of up to 30 tons of hashish. In an attempt to control this new trend in the traffic of hashish, the Customs Department of the Tax Agency has set up surveillance in the area to detect similar patterns of transport. The result of this tactic is this latest seizure.

Investigators suspect that the Eastern Mediterranean route is being used by organizations located in northern African countries, which are transporting large amounts of hashish in trade or fishing vessels, and storing it in these countries. Using these vessels, the drugs would later be redistributed towards Europe, without ruling out that, in some cases, they could be used as mother ships to transfer the hashish to other smaller vessels, which would introduce it directly to the Spanish, French or Italian coasts.

Drug trafficking organizations adapt quickly to new scenarios, being very agile in assuming any change in strategy. Control of this route in the Eastern Mediterranean and of this type of vessel is complex, as these are commercial vessels that usually carry out legal transports and, upon departure, with a brief technical stop, receive significant quantities of hashish for transfer to the easternmost countries of the Mediterranean, from where the drug would be stored for subsequent transfer to Europe.