In collaboration with French Customs, the Spanish Tax Agency has intercepted a sailing boat in Cartagena carrying more than 7 tonnes of hashish
Operation ‘Zacatin'
- The seized drugs would have had a value of more than 11 million euros in the illicit market
- The two crew members of the yacht, Russian nationals and natives of Saint Petersburg, arrested
September 8, 2018 .- The Tax Agency has intercepted in the early hours of yesterday, 100 miles east of Cabo de Palos, a 'sloop' type sailboat, 16 meters in length and with the North American flag, named 'Bella', when he was transporting more than 200 bales of hashish. In the absence of a final weighing, it is estimated that the amount seized could exceed 7,000 kilos of hashish resin, so that the value of the drug on the illicit market could have exceeded 11 million euros.
The operation, called 'Zacatín', begins when representatives of French Customs transfer the Department of Customs and II.EE. from the Tax Agency an alert about the possible participation of this sailboat in the transport of an important cache of narcotics, at which point the Customs Surveillance aerial means of the Tax Agency track and locate the yacht 'Bella' in the area usually used for the loading of this type of narcotic.
After communicating the sighting of the sailboat to the naval resources of the Tax Agency in Murcia, the monitoring and control phase of the vessel begins, which culminates around three in the morning yesterday with the boarding of the sailboat by the crew of the patrol boat. Colimbo IV of the Cartagena Maritime Base of the AEAT.
Upon accessing the sailboat, the officials detect that the identity ('Amira') and the port of registration that the yacht shows on its transom do not correspond to the name ('Bella') and port of registration that appear in the documentation ship's officer; Furthermore, from the deck you can see a large number of bales usually used to transport hashish resin, which is why the Customs Surveillance officials proceeded to immediately arrest the two crew members and transfer them to the Port of Cartagena. along with the sailboat and the seized drugs.
The detainees, of Russian nationality, natives of Saint Petersburg, the yacht and the drugs, will shortly be placed at the disposal of the Central Investigative Court of the National Court, on guard duty.
Researchers suspect that the so-called 'Eastern Mediterranean route' would be used by organizations located in North African countries, which would transport significant quantities of hashish on pleasure boats or on merchant or fishing boats, and that they would be stored in these. countries.
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: Presentation of charges for smuggling and related offences
Free telephone 900351378.
Email: denunciasvigilanciaaduanera@correo.aeat.es
Filming of the boarding operation (to download the video you must enter the following web address):
Note: Photographic annex included: