Spain seizes 30 tons of cocaine in record European haul, detains 23 crew

Spanish police have seized ​30 tons of cocaine from a ​ship off the ‌Canary Islands ​and detained its 23-member crew without bail in Europe's largest-ever bust of the drug, the High ‌Court said on Thursday, more than doubling Spain's previous record. The Comoro Island-flagged Arconian was intercepted by the Guardia Civil police force on May 1, with ‌a cargo the court valued at more than 812 million euros ($956 ‌million).

The seizure dwarfs the 25 tons recovered by German police at the port of Hamburg in June 2024, previously Europe's biggest, and is more than twice Spain's own ⁠record ​of 13 tons, ⁠found in a shipment of Ecuadorean bananas at Algeciras last year. The operation, carried out ⁠with U.S. and Dutch authorities, will be detailed by police on Friday.

Investigators believe ​the cocaine was to be transferred at sea to high-speed boats ⁠and smuggled into mainland Spain. Firearms and ammunition were found on board, and six ⁠crew members ​were discovered hiding when officers boarded. Seventeen of the crew members were from the Philippines, while the six found hiding on board ⁠were from the Netherlands and Suriname.

The court ordered the crew held without bail, ⁠citing the gravity ⁠of the alleged offences, flight risk and the likelihood of further criminal activity while the investigation continues. ($1 = 0.8495 ‌euros)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)