Spanish authorities have seized nearly 500 kg of cocaine from a yacht that was nearing the Canary Islands. This is being seen as a major offensive and a setback to the drug cartel involved in smuggling cocaine and other prohibited substances from Latin America to the archipelago called Canary Islands. 5 people were arrested by the police in this operation of which 2 were Spanish, 1 was an Irish national and there was also an American as well as an Australian woman involved in the operation. In a statement issued to the press by the interior ministry later on, it was revealed that the ring that has been busted had been smuggling huge quantities of banned substances into Cape Verde from various Latin American countries. These drugs were stored there and later sent off to Canary Islands.
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It was on July 17 that a Spanish customs ship intercepted a yacht near the Spanish archipelago in Atlantic Ocean. When custom agents went inside the yacht, they found 500 packets each containing suspicious looking white powder that was later identified as cocaine. The police team also found two machineguns and jewelry and other valuables worth nearly 135000 Euros. The police team also recovered 40000 Euros in cash from the possession of the suspects. This was not all as police also found two expensive vehicles, sailboats and sensitive telecommunications equipment from inside the yacht. A spokesman from the interior ministry later told the media that the Spanish national arrested in the operation was already a wanted man in connection with other investigations. The haul of cocaine, the largest in recent times, is being estimated to be around 35 million pounds.
The five people who have been arrested form the yacht are believed to have been involved in drug trade for quite some time. These people worked as a group and purchased drugs from South American countries at cheap prices and took them to Cape Verde from where they were sold to drug cartel operating in Canary Islands. The connections of this group of smugglers run deep in the network of drug smugglers as they could easily smuggle large quantities of drugs into Cape Verde. After taking security measures, the group packed off these drugs in small quantities to Canary Islands where they were consumed.
Spanish police has not ruled out further more arrests following the arrests of these 5 people. For long, Spain has served as the entry point for drugs into Europe. The arrest of the 5 people and the subsequent seizing of the drugs is being seen as a big blow to the international drug cartel that was operating along this route for quite some time now.
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Last year alone, nearly 20 tones of cocaine were seized by Spanish authorities. This was nearly 30% more than the previous year reflecting on the importance of Spain as the gateway to Europe as far as drugs are concerned. Spain accounts for 40% of cocaine and around 75% of hashish traded illegally in Europe.
