Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• The three crew members of the boat, one British citizen and two French nationals, were arrested 
• The sailboat belonged to a criminal organization specialized in chartering this type of vessel, which either transported the drugs hidden inside directly to the port or transferred them to other vessels for stashing and subsequent storage in "nurseries."

June 24, 2018 .- The Tax Agency and the National Police, in a joint operation, have intercepted a sailboat in waters near the Canary Islands that was carrying nearly 1,850 kilos of cocaine, proceeding to arrest its three crew members, one of them of English nationality and two, French.

The operation, called 'GRU', began in 2015, when Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and the National Police began investigations into a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking by sea using sailboats.

The modus operandi consisted of chartering pleasure boats that either transported the drugs directly to Spanish ports secreted in specially equipped compartments (hidden), or carried out the transfer at sea to other boats that were responsible for introducing the drugs into our country. The drugs were then stored in 'nurseries' until they were distributed on the black market.

Within the framework of the GRU operation, the result of international collaboration with the British authorities (NCA) and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre for Drug Trafficking (MAOC-N), and with the support of the Intelligence Centre against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO) and the Ministry of Defence, the possible transport of drugs on board a vessel, initially of unknown name, a sailboat type, was detected, heading towards the Spanish coast, where the merchandise would be transferred to another vessel.

Initially, it was suspected that the drugs were being transported by a vessel that received them off the coast of Suriname. However, the investigation later determined that he could have transferred the drugs to another boat, also a sailboat, whose name was unknown, which was located about 300 miles from the Canary Islands and heading towards the archipelago.

Intercepted by the Tax Agency's patrol boat 'Petrel'

The appropriate air and naval operation having been established and the Tax Agency's patrol boat 'Petrel I' having been dispatched to the area, the location of a sailing vessel of about 12 metres in length and with a white hull was confirmed, which was in the indicated position, with the support of the Spanish Air Force.

Finally, in the early hours of June 20, some 240 nautical miles west of the Canary Islands, the 'Petrel' boarded the English-flagged sailboat 'Pepper Sauce' and arrested its three crew members. A total of 61 bales of cocaine were found inside the ship, weighing approximately 1,850 kilos.

After obtaining the required judicial authorization, the sailboat, towed by the ship 'Petrel', arrived this morning at the port of Las Palmas to present the detainees, the drugs and the boat to the judicial authorities.

The investigation, following a complaint filed by the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office, is currently being tried in the Central Court of Instruction No. 6 of the National Court. The operation was carried out by the crew of the 'Petrel', the Operations Sub-directorate and the Regional Customs Surveillance Area of the Tax Agency in Asturias, together with the Central Narcotics Brigade of the National Police, with support from the NCA, the MAOC-N, the Citco and the Ministry of Defense.