Operation “Tiresias”

• The seized drug is worth more than 12.5 million euros
• Both Bulgarian yacht crew members were arrested

June 16, 2018.- The Tax Agency intercepted at 11:30 p.m. yesterday, June 15, 22 miles southeast of Cartagena, a sloop sailboat, 20 meters in length, yacht with a Dutch flag, named Ulysses, with registration DLZ13509B012, when it was transporting about 280 bales, which weighed more than 10,000 kilograms of hashish resin. The black market value of the seized drug amounts to 12.5 million euros.

The operation, known as 'Tiresias', started when Spain's Inland Revenue and Customs airborne surveillance means detected the Ulysses yacht lying alongside a motorboat in an area normally used for loading this type of drug; the sighting of the aforementioned sailing boat is reported to the Murcia Tax Agency's naval resources; this follow-up and control ends in the sailing boat being boarded by the crew of the Cartagena Naval Base's Colimbo IV patrol boat, whose officers, once on deck, detect a large number of bundles in different compartments of the type normally used in transporting hashish resin; for which reason they immediately arrest both crew members and transfer them, the yacht and seized drugs to the Cartagena Port.

The suspects, of Bulgarian nationality, yacht and drugs, will shortly be brought before the National Court's Central Examining Court No. 5.

Open route

This new operation confirms the importance of the so-called Eastern Mediterranean Route, in which, in recent years, Italy, France and Spain have seized ships such as the '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" and "Rinad", "Santa Rita Terza", "Green Cedar", "Mehtap", "San Trela", "Meryem" Just Reema" el Mirca and the aforementioned "Ulysses" (operations including sixteen by Spain's Inland Revenue and Customs Surveillance and many by the Murcia Customs Surveillance Units). All these vessels were transporting up to 30 tonnes of hashish.

Investigators suspect that the Eastern Mediterranean route is being used by organisations located in North African countries, which transport significant quantities of hashish in recreational craft or on merchant or fishing vessels, and use these countries to store it. Using these vessels, the drugs would later be redistributed to Europe, without ruling out that, in some cases, they could be used as mother ships to transship the hashish to other smaller vessels, which would introduce them directly to the Spanish or Italian coasts.

Customs Supervision: Filing complaints for smuggling and related crimes
Toll-free 900351378.
Email: denunciasvigilanciaaduanera@correo.aeat.es

Note: Photographs attached.