• It is the highest number of narcotic substances seized since 2011 and triples the amount of 2019, according to the report prepared by the Center for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) of the Ministry of the Interior.
• The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, the National Police and the Civil Guard carried out eighteen operations on the high seas, eleven of them with positive results.
• From 2011 to 2020, Customs Surveillance and the State Security Forces and Corps carried out 129 boardings in international waters that allowed the seizure of 386 tons of drugs

June 5, 2021.- Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and the State Security Forces and Corps seized more than 69 tons of narcotic substances during 2020 in 18 boardings of vessels in international waters, specifically in the areas of the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In total, 63.6 tons of hashish and 5.4 tons of cocaine were seized.

This is the largest amount of drugs seized in this type of operation since 2011 and triples the amount seized throughout 2019. Overall, from 2011 to 2020, Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency, dependent on the Ministry of Finance and the State Security Forces and Corps, carried out 129 boardings in international waters that led to the seizure of 386 tons of drugs.

The data is part of the 2020 report prepared by the Center for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) of the Ministry of the Interior on boardings in international waters. These operations are contemplated in the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea, of 1982, and against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, of 1988, both ratified by Spain.

In 2020, Spain processed 27 boarding requests, of which 18 were carried out, eleven with positive results and seven without detection of prohibited substances. Nine other requests did not end up on the high seas for various reasons.

International legislation requires authorization for boarding from the countries under whose flag the vessels in question sail. Of those investigated, mostly sailboats, eight were sailing under the flag of the Netherlands. They are followed by the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium, with three vessels in each case, and Togo and Panama, with two each.