Portuguese authorities recently broke up the largest cocaine smuggling case in the country’s history, seizing nearly nine tons of drugs from a semi-submersible vessel in the waters off the Azores Islands. The operation was carried out in adverse sea conditions and involved collaboration from the Portuguese Navy, Air Force, as well as law enforcement agencies from the UK and the US.
Law enforcement officials said on Monday that they successfully intercepted the suspect vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, about 230 nautical miles (approximately 426 kilometers) from the Azores Islands.
According to a spokesperson quoted by AFP, the total amount of cocaine seized in this operation was close to nine tons, marking the largest cocaine seizure in Portugal’s history.
During a subsequent press conference, Artur Vaz, head of the National Unit for Combating Drug Trafficking Crimes (UNCTE) under the Portuguese Judicial Police, stated that an estimated nine tons of drugs were recovered from the vessel. He emphasized that once these drugs hit the market, they would generate illegal profits amounting to “billions of euros” for highly organized criminal groups.
Authorities added that the semi-submersible vessel ultimately sank during the operation, with 35 packages of drugs going down with the ship out of the approximately 300 packages on board.
Investigations revealed that the ship departed from Latin America with a crew of four individuals, including three Colombians and one Venezuelan.
In recent years, Portuguese law enforcement agencies have been increasingly successful in busting major drug trafficking cases along the coastal waters. Official data shows that just last year, the total amount of drugs seized along the Portuguese coast exceeded 23 tons, reaching the highest level since 2006.
In October last year, authorities seized about six tons of cannabis resin in the Seixal area, marking the largest drug seizure in the country’s history at the time. Additionally, they confiscated 580,000 euros in cash, multiple vehicles, and various firearms. In March of the same year, the Judicial Police intercepted a submarine designed for drug transportation that had set sail from Brazil.