Key ruling: Santa Cruz de Tenerife port was crucial in major operation involving nearly 3,000 kilos of cocaine
The Provincial Court of Pontevedra has handed down a condennatory sentence this 2026 in proceedings brought against an international drug trafficking network, detailing how Tenerife became a turning point for the seizure of a large shipment of cocaine intercepted at sea. The court validated the protocol followed by authorities after the boarding of the Simione, a vessel flying an Angolan flag, in an operation that ended with the disembarkation and weighing of the illicit substance in the capital of Tenerife.
The timeline places the boarding on December 18, 2022, in the Atlantic waters. After the vessel was secured and its crew detained by the Special Intervention Unit (UEI) of the Guardia Civil, a strategic decision was taken to tow the ship to the Santa Cruz de Tenerife fishing quay, specifically alongside berths 18 and 23 in the sand quays. The Guardia Civil reports cited in the sentence justify this move on nautical safety grounds, given the risk of capsizing due to lack of stability that would have occurred if the cocaine were transferred at sea to a vessel from the armed institute.
Once on land, under judicial authority supervision and with the presence of the court-appointed lawyer for the administration of justice, an exhaustive procedure was carried out involving searching, weighing, and taking samples. The operation documented in the ruling states that the cargo, made up of 115 bales, was moved into a container for safekeeping at the Guardia Civil headquarters in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This chain of custody—challenged by the defense without success—allowed authorities to confirm the seizure of 2,866.52 kilograms of cocaine with a 77.3% purity.
The Provincial Court emphasizes the regularity of the process. Experts and officers from units focused on organized crime in Galicia and the Canary Islands confirmed during the trial how the weighing was carried out using certified scales. The sentence also notes that, while part of the substance was sent to the Pharmaceutical Section and Drug Control of the Health Department of Santa Cruz de Tenerife for forensic analysis, most of the haul remained deposited at the Tenerife command, pending a judicial order for its final destruction.
With this ruling, the court not only upholds the convicted defendants’ responsibility, but also locks in that the procedure carried out in Tenerife was carried out in accordance with the law. The use of the Tenerife port, far from being a minor incident, proved crucial to ensure the integrity of the evidence and the safety of the operation—by providing the infrastructure needed to handle criminal logistics of clear significance, ultimately thwarted by the coordinated intervention of the investigation teams.
The entry Key ruling: Santa Cruz de Tenerife port was crucial in major operation involving nearly 3,000 kilos of cocaine was first published on canarymaritime.com.
