Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• During the operation, carried out last December, the Customs Surveillance Special Operations Vessel 'Fulmar' had to navigate through storms, with strong winds and waves, in search of the vessel.

• The crew members of the sailboat, three of them Colombian nationals and one French, are awaiting trial

January 24, 2023.- Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with the National Police, intervened on December 5 a sailboat from the Caribbean that was transporting nearly 2,500 kilos of cocaine bound for the Canary Islands area, and proceeded to arrest its four crew members, who are in provisional prison awaiting trial.

The boarding of the sailing vessel 'Mambo' was carried out by the Special Operations Customs Surveillance Vessel 'Fulmar', which left Cadiz on November 28 and sailed west through storms in search of the vessel, which was finally located in a low pressure area, with strong winds and waves that made the assault and boarding considerably difficult.

Customs surveillance officers who were part of the Fulmar's crew warned from the start that the sailboat was carrying narcotics, given that a large quantity of the bales normally used to transport cocaine could be seen from outside the sailboat.

Following the boarding, the four crew members of the vessel were arrested; three men, two of Colombian nationality and one of French nationality, and a woman, also Colombian. After securing the boat, the towing of the sailboat began until its arrival at the port of Las Palmas.

This operation is the result of coordination between customs and police, which, through the exchange and analysis of information obtained in their respective areas, in this case by the Regional Customs Surveillance Area in the Canary Islands and Greco Galicia of the National Police, allowed the detection of the sailboat 'Mambo' in the Canary Islands at the beginning of summer.

The navigations, stays and behaviour of the sailboat's crew indicated that they could be scouting the geographical area and the marinas of the islands for a future operation to introduce narcotic substances, in this case cocaine, as was subsequently confirmed.