The National Court has issued a ruling against the two crew members of a rigid-hulled inflatable boat that was intercepted in December 2023 with a massive cargo of narcotics. Each of the accused has been sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay two fines of 255 million euros after admitting their involvement in a crime against public health, aggravated by the extreme seriousness of using a boat to transport the drugs.
The operation, which involved cooperation from international agencies such as the DEA and the British NCA, concluded on December 6, 2023, in Atlantic waters. A patrol boat from the Customs Surveillance Service located the vessel, registered under the Polish flag, approximately 1,270 miles southwest of the Canary Islands. At the time of boarding, agents found 86 bales of cocaine that the crew had guarded in the same compartment where they slept.
Following the arrest, the vessel was towed to the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it docked on the morning of December 9 for the official weighing and registration of the seized items. Analysis confirmed that the haul contained 2,051 kilograms of net cocaine with a purity of 85.9%, a cargo valued at over 85 million euros in the illicit market.
In addition to the drugs, Customs Surveillance agents seized various high-tech devices at the Tenerife port, including satellite phones, GPS systems, and tracking beacons, key tools for coordinating the delivery at sea. Although the ruling confirms that the final destination of the cargo was the Spanish coasts, authorities have kept the investigation open to identify the leaders of the criminal network that organized the shipment from South America.
This is how it happened
On November 30, 2023, following an exchange of international police information, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) communicated, via the Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Intelligence Center (CITCO), the existence of a suspicious vessel that might be transporting cocaine across the Atlantic towards Europe, specifically Spain. The information was relayed to the Organized Crime and Drug Team (EDOA) of the Judicial Police Unit of the Civil Guard in Pontevedra. According to the provided details, on November 27 at 16:30 (Z), the vessel was approximately 1,270 nautical miles southwest of Tenerife.
In light of the severity of the alert, on December 2, the patrol boat, assigned to the Deputy Directorate of Customs Surveillance, departed for the area with its regular crew and with officials from the EDOA and UDYCO (Central Drug Brigade) on board. The aim was to verify the information provided by the British and American agencies and, if necessary, proceed with the interception.
In the early hours of December 6, 2023, the patrol boat located the vessel at position 31° 18’N – 24° 27’W, sailing northeast. Noticing no visible identification, the right of visit under Article 110 of the Montego Bay Convention was exercised to check its flag and documentation. Upon approaching and requesting the papers, it was confirmed that it was a rigid-hulled inflatable boat, supposedly registered under the Polish flag. Two crew members were on board: one of whom was French.
During the inspection, the agents observed numerous bundles sharing space with the occupants in the main compartment. A total of 86 bales were counted. A random drug test conducted on one of the packages returned positive for cocaine. At that point, both crew members were arrested.
On the same December 6, a request was made, through CITCO and under Article 17 of the 1988 United Nations Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, for confirmation from Polish authorities regarding the registration of the vessel and authorization for boarding and transport to a Spanish port. On December 7, Polish authorities reported that there was no vessel of that description in their databases.
For safety and preservation of evidence, the detainees, their personal belongings, and the 86 bales were transferred to the patrol boat. The drugs were stored under custody in the appropriate locker, involving the Civil Guard and the National Police. The boat was towed to the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, arriving around 09:00 on December 9, 2023.
During the inspection conducted in port, various devices and items were seized: two REDMI mobile phones with Vodafone cards; one IRIDIUM satellite phone; one THURAYA satellite phone; a SPOT GPS model SPOTXB; a GARMIN GPS; one GARMIN memory card; three SPOTTRACE GPS beacons; a notebook with handwritten notes; documentation of the vessel; a PRIMUX laptop; and an ALCATEL phone. Cash amounts of 400 euros were seized from Baltasar and 1,008 euros from Camilo at the time of their arrest.
The detailed inspection of the bales revealed that 85 were wrapped in white raffia sacks and one in clear plastic film. Inside, they contained vacuum-sealed plastic wrappings with tablets marked with the inscriptions “DIOR” and “LOOK.” Tests conducted on several randomly selected bales again confirmed the presence of cocaine.
The gross total weight of the seized substance amounted to 2,469.750 kilograms, and the net weight to 2,051.100 kilograms. Following the entry and inspection procedure, the drugs were sent to the Functional Area of Health and Foreign Policy of the Government Delegation in Cantabria, where analysis determined a cocaine purity of 85.9%. This substance is listed in Schedule I of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The estimated value in the illicit market, according to a report from the EDOA based on references from the National Drug Central Office for the second half of 2023, amounted to 85,287,909.53 euros. Subsequent investigations did not allow for the identification of other members of the organization that allegedly organized the shipment from South America.
