Operation Goleta-Gratil, jointly between the Tax Agency and the National Police

• This is the largest operation carried out to date in Spain against maritime hashish trafficking.
• Nine Bulgarian and Russian nationals arrested after a five-day maritime operation in different parts of the Atlantic Ocean
• The complex operations of the organization, which frequently changed the name and flag of the sailboats, required actions in five European countries to achieve full identification of the objectives.
• The air-naval operation involved the action of four patrol boats, a helicopter and a Customs Surveillance plane, and the Navy's BAM 'Meteoro', which are added to the investigation carried out for months by members of the Tax Agency and the National Police.
• Previously, in March and July of this year, two other sailboats belonging to the same organization were boarded with another 4,600 kilos of hashish.

September 30, 2020 .- The Tax Agency and the National Police, within the framework of a joint investigation, have completed the biggest blow to date in Spain to the trafficking of hashish by sea, with the seizure, in just five days, of four high-end sailboats belonging to the same organization that were carrying more than 30 tons of hashish and the arrest of nine members of the organization, of Bulgarian and Russian origins. The operation completes previous actions and raises the total amount seized to more than 35 tons.

The large-scale maritime operation, called 'Goleta-Gratil', took place between 24 and 28 September in various maritime scenarios of the Atlantic Ocean, with the participation of four patrol boats, a helicopter and a Customs Surveillance plane from the Tax Agency, and the BAM 'Meteoro' of the Navy, which join the investigation carried out for months by members of the Tax Agency and the National Police.

The origin of the actions

The investigation began in October 2019, when investigators from the Regional Customs Surveillance Area of the Tax Agency in Andalusia and the National Police detected a suspected drug trafficking vessel, the 'Amaalta', beginning a joint investigation into this and other vessels. This organisation would have initially established its base of operations in the Balearic Islands, from where it intended to prepare the boats outside the possible control that is normally exercised by the Security Forces over the most active or hot zones in which the organisations operate to carry out this type of illicit activities.

The joint proceedings were brought before the Mixed Court No. 5 of El Puerto de Santa María, and new proceedings were subsequently opened, depending on the progress of the investigations, in the Court of Instruction No. 3 of Manacor, the Court of Instruction No. 3 of Inca and the Court of Instruction No. 2 of Telde (Gran Canaria).

During the investigation, in the following months more suspicious vessels belonging to the same organisation were detected ('Phase One', 'Hanna', 'Sweet Breeze', 'Eagle Ray' and Carla), all of them high-end sailboats.

The first fruit of the joint investigation occurred during the State of Alarm, on March 26, when the patrol boat 'Paíño' of Customs Surveillance, based in Palma de Mallorca, boarded the sailboat 'Phase One', 17.2 meters long and flying the Dutch flag, 80 miles south of Mallorca, with 4,244 kilos of hashish, in a high-risk operation on the high seas due to two circumstances: Firstly, the sea conditions and secondly, the attempted sabotage by setting fire by the crew on board, two Bulgarian nationals who were placed at the disposal of Court Number 3 of Manacor, which was leading the investigation together with the Public Prosecutor's Office of Palma de Mallorca.

Subsequently, on 14 July 2020, the second action against the organisation took place, with the intervention of the 'Hanna', 14.5 metres long and flying the flag of the United Kingdom, in the Gulf of Cadiz, with 360 kilos of hashish on board.

Maritime macro-operation

Finally, in September 2020, the organization carried out a major deployment of resources, in which they simultaneously put to sea the four sailboats that were being controlled by Customs Surveillance and National Police investigators: the 'Sweet Breeze', the 'Eagle Ray', the 'Amaalta' and the 'Carla'.

From that moment on, a maritime control device was activated with the aim of proceeding to their interception, in which Customs Surveillance and Spanish Navy resources participated, which was successfully completed, apprehending the four sailboats, which constitutes an important milestone in the fight against drug trafficking, given that it is the biggest blow dealt to maritime hashish trafficking.

The 'Sweet Breeze', a UK-flagged vessel measuring 21.99 metres in length, was boarded by the Customs Surveillance patrol boat 'Sacre', based in Las Palmas, on 24 September, southeast of Fuerteventura and in international waters, with 10,700 kilos of hashish.

The 'Eagle Ray', flying the flag of the United Kingdom and measuring 18.6 metres in length, was boarded by the 'Águila II' patrol boat of Customs Surveillance, based in Algeciras, on 24 September, in international waters near the Strait of Gibraltar with 9,300 kilos of hashish.

The 'Amaalta', a German-flagged vessel measuring 17.2 metres in length, was boarded on 26 September by a Customs Surveillance crew on board the Maritime Action Vessel (BAM) 'Meteoro' of the Spanish Navy off the coast of Mauritania, in international waters, with an estimated quantity of 4,500 kilos of hashish.

In this case, the operation was particularly complex, as the sailboat was experiencing a significant amount of water, which left it without steering at the mercy of very unfavourable weather conditions after the operation, and which ultimately led to the sinking of the sailboat on its return to port.

Finally, the Carla, flying the Dutch flag and measuring 16.2 metres in length, was boarded on 28 September in waters south-east of Fuerteventura by the Customs Surveillance patrol boat 'Sacre', based in Las Palmas, with an estimated quantity of 6,000 kilos of hashish.

The vessels seized, along with the drugs and the detainees, have been placed at the disposal of the competent judicial authorities.

The relevance of the organization

These police actions are a major blow to what investigators consider to be the largest criminal organisation dedicated to maritime hashish trafficking, made up of criminals from Eastern European countries, having thwarted the introduction, in total and including previous seizures last spring, of more than 34 tonnes of hashish, as well as the seizure of six sailboats valued at more than 5 million euros.

The logistical capacity of the top leaders of Bulgarian criminal organisations dedicated to the transport of narcotic substances in recreational boats has thus been attacked, preventing new routes from emerging or appearing taking advantage of the pandemic.

At the same time, a large amount of material has been seized in the searches carried out on the sailboats, which will be duly analysed by the acting forces to detect new evidence and indications of criminal conduct. The investigation is still ongoing, with attempts to locate and identify new members of the criminal organization. New arrests are not ruled out.

International coordination

The complex operations of the organisation, which frequently changed the name and flag of the sailing ships, required action in five European countries to achieve full identification of the objectives. At the international level, the Centre for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO) has collaborated with the National Criminal Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom, the Dutch, Bulgarian, Greek and Italian authorities, the Maritime Analysis and Operation Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N) and Europol, through the coordination of the Centre for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO).

The exchange of information with international organisations such as Europol and MAOC-N allows for greater knowledge and monitoring of transnational criminal groups that, in an itinerant manner, use the national territory and its extensive coastline to try to carry out their illicit purposes.

In the case of Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency, these actions are part of the plan to intensify the investigative actions of the Tax Agency, and specifically, it has been coordinated through the Maritime Intelligence Offices by the General Subdirectorate of Operations, through the 'Nautilus' operation, whose main purpose is to determine the relationships between individuals and vessels suspected of engaging in illegal activities.

In turn, within the framework of the current health emergency caused by COVID-19, the National Police has established a series of preventive measures to combat drug trafficking in the current situation, since large-scale drug trafficking continued with its usual activity and, in some cases, has even increased taking advantage of the special situation and the existing health restrictions.

The operation as a whole has been carried out by the Tax Agency, the General Subdirectorate of Customs Surveillance Operations, the network of Maritime Intelligence Offices of VA and VA Regional Areas from Andalusia, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. On behalf of the National Police, Section IV BCE-UDYCO Central, BCE-Group 50, BCE-GRECO Cádiz, Section OCT BCCO-UDYCO Central, UDYCO Mallorca, UDYCO Las Palmas and GRECO Málaga have participated.

Images of the operation (to download the videos and photographs, enter the following web address):

https://we.tl/t-LoqFkRI4GI