Operation of the Tax Agency, Civil Guard and National Police

• The four crew members, of Colombian nationality, who were rescued after sinking the device as the ship 'Fulmar' of the Customs Surveillance service of the Tax Agency approached 280 miles west of the coast of Cadiz, have been arrested.

• Investigators point out that the ship has similar characteristics to other 'narco-boats' located in previous operations, and due to the location of the intervention and the way the crew acted, it is presumed that they were carrying cocaine on board.

• In a parallel operation, 900 kilos of cocaine were seized 200 miles from the Canary Islands, with the international collaboration of the British NCA and the US DEA.

June 26, 2024.- Officials of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with the National Police and Civil Guard, have carried out the interception of a semi-submersible that was heading to the coasts of the Peninsula. The operation, carried out by the Customs Surveillance vessel 'Fulmar', has concluded with the arrest of the four crew members of the vessel, of Colombian nationality, who were rescued after the vessel sank 280 miles west of the coast of Cadiz, as the "Fulmar" approached. 

Investigators say the ship has similar characteristics to other 'narco-vessels' found in previous operations, and given the location of the operation and the behaviour of the arrested crew, it is presumed that it was carrying cocaine on board.

The operation began on the 24th, when information was received from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicating a possible transfer point between an unknown target and a presumably semi-rigid vessel in an area where the Customs Surveillance Service was already maintaining intensified surveillance by means of satellite means and where the 'Fulmar' was already sailing to optimize the return journey to port.

On the morning of the 25th, some 280 miles west of Cadiz, the Special Operations Vessel locates a 20-meter-long semi-submersible off its bow, similar to those already located in the Aldán estuary in 2019 and in the Arousa estuary in 2023.

The crew of the vessel, as soon as they sense the ship's proximity, open the bottom valves and come to the surface to reach safety. The semi-submersible floods within minutes and sinks with its cargo to the bottom of the sea. The four Colombian crew members are rescued and detained by the crew of the "Fulmar".

Preliminary operation with 900 kilos of cocaine seized

It so happens that the Customs Surveillance vessel was already loaded with seized drugs, nearly 900 kilos of cocaine, at the time of the intervention of the semi-submersible, given that it had just carried out, three days earlier, another equally joint operation with the Civil Guard and the National Police.

In this first operation, and the result of international collaboration, intelligence was received from the services of the British National Crime Agency (NCA) and the DEA, channeled through the Center for Analysis against Maritime Drug Trafficking in the Atlantic (MAOC) and the Center for Intelligence against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO).

As a result of the analysis of the intelligence received, carried out by the Spanish police and customs services, the 'Fulmar' was activated to try to locate and intervene a vessel that was presumably transporting a significant quantity of cocaine bound for Spain. The crew of the 'Fulmar', in the early hours of Saturday 22, located the semi-rigid vessel in the estimated transfer area, which, upon seeing that it was discovered, began to flee, loaded with a significant quantity of bales normally used for cocaine trafficking.

The chase, in difficult weather conditions, lasted for more than six hours, and the attempted stash was finally thwarted. The crew of the 'narco-boat' throws the cargo, a total of 30 bales with nearly 900 kilos of cocaine, which are recovered by SVA officials.

The chase ceased when, having confirmed that all the merchandise had been thrown into the sea, the target headed for the island of La Palma. It so happens that the next day an abandoned boat appeared on the beach of Tazacorte in La Palma which, almost certainly, corresponded to the one that fled after being pursued by the Special Operations Vessel.

All these facts have been brought to the attention of the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office of the National Court, which has forwarded the proceedings to the Court on Duty to continue the investigations, take statements from the crew of the semi-submersible and try to identify those of the semi-rigid boat.

The success of this type of action is the result of the excellent collaborative work between several European and national organisations (MAOC, CITCO) and the different Spanish police and customs bodies, as well as, in this case, the cooperation of the DEA and the NCA.

 

 

Operation filming (to download the video, enter the following web address):   https://we.tl/t-W3tFoCFc9U