The Customs Surveillance Service of the Spanish Tax Agency and the Civil Guard intercepted, on Wednesday, with the collaboration of Morocco, a tugboat named “Sky White”, which was carrying around 3,000 kilos of cocaine, divided into 80 bales of different sizes.
The operation benefited from international collaboration between the police services of Morocco, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Portugal, as well as the Intelligence Center on Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N), the Spanish Deputy Directorate of Customs Surveillance (DAVA) said in a statement.
Since the summer of 2024, this vessel had been suspected of being used for large-scale international drug trafficking and, thanks to international cooperation, it was intercepted, DAVA recalled, noting that the five crew members on board the Cameroonian-flagged vessel were arrested.
The operation was carried out as part of a case investigated by the Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (DNRED), in collaboration with Moroccan authorities, into the criminal group operating with this vessel.
This case was linked to the investigation conducted in Spain by the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, which was investigating the “Sky White” as a supply vessel responsible for delivering narcotics to other, smaller vessels in areas near the Canary Islands or the Iberian Peninsula.
The investigation was supported by the police services of the United Kingdom (NCA), the United States (DEA), and Portugal (Polícia Judiciária), coordinated by CITCO and the Atlantic Drug Trafficking Analysis Centre.
With the support of the Spanish Armed Forces, a boarding operation was set up on the vessel in international waters west of the Canary Islands, the statement noted, adding that the operation was carried out from a navy vessel by members of the Civil Guard’s Special Intervention Unit.
On board the vessel, a 22-meter-long tugboat, about 3,000 kilos of cocaine were discovered, hidden inside its structure. The vessel was in a deplorable condition for navigation, with serious safety deficiencies that posed a major risk to the crew, made up of four people from Bangladesh and one from Venezuela, who were arrested as suspected drug traffickers.
The operation concluded with the arrival of the navy vessel in Tenerife to unload the drugs and place those arrested in pretrial detention.
The success of this type of operation is the result of collaboration between organizations specializing in criminal intelligence cooperation at the national, European, and international levels, such as CITCO or MAOC-N, and the various Spanish and French police and customs services, as well as the unwavering support of the Moroccan authorities, the statement concluded.
