Performance of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency

• The intervention takes place within the framework of the international operation 'Pascal-Lino 2024' that the Spanish Customs is developing together with the French Customs in the Atlantic

• Six Brazilian crew members of the fishing boat arrested

• The drug was detected in the fishing gear area with the help of a portable scanner from the Special Operations Vessel 'Petrel' of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency

September 26, 2024.- Officials of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency aboard the Special Operations Vessel 'Petrel', in cooperation with the French patrol vessel 'DFP3-JF Deniau', have intervened in Atlantic waters northwest of the Canary Islands an unflagged fishing vessel carrying 500 kilos of cocaine, while they have proceeded to arrest its six crew members, all of them of Brazilian nationality.

Spanish and French customs patrol boats were deployed in the area as part of the operation called 'Pascal-Lino 2024', a cooperation exercise that the customs of Spain and France have been developing in different scenarios in recent years.

The intervention began when aerial means participating in the operation managed to identify a fishing vessel whose characteristics and behavior made it highly suspicious, as it navigated in erratic directions and there was no other fishing vessel within a very wide range.

It was then, on Monday morning, when naval resources headed towards the position of this vessel, more than 300 miles northwest of the Canary Islands, to verify the identity of the vessel and the circumstances surrounding its activity and location in the area.

Drugs hidden among fishing gear

There were six individuals on board the fishing boat, all of Brazilian nationality, who said they were fishing in the area. However, the behaviour of the crew, the disused state of the fishing gear and the serious safety and documentation deficiencies found reinforced the initial suspicions of the agents, who detected among a large quantity of nets and gear several sacks which, with the help of portable radiological inspection equipment from the 'Petrel', finally turned out to be bales of the type normally used to transport narcotic substances.

As a result of this action, a total of 20 bales of cocaine were seized, with an estimated weight of 500 kilos, resulting in the arrest of the crew of the boat.

The ship 'Petrel' arrived this morning at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife to unload the drugs and bring the detainees before the Court on Duty. The National Court directs the corresponding judicial procedure.

Operation filming (to download the video, enter the following web address):

Images of the operation

https://we.tl/t-gRlxVknAkx

Images of the arrival at port and unloading

https://we.tl/t-VE7R9sMi9E