By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Spanish police, alongside several other law enforcement agencies, dealt a blow to a Balkan drug cartel after seizing 2.7 tons of cocaine off the Canary Islands coast, police said Friday.
Spanish police arrested two of the ship’s occupants at sea and Serbian police arrested four others connected to the drugs. According to Europol, one of the main organizers of the criminal networks was caught in the bust.
Serbian police started investigating the gang in early 2022, after suspecting that they were coordinating wholesale trafficking of cocaine from South America to Europe. Several other law enforcement agencies from Brazil, Croatia, France, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Slovenia also started monitoring the group.
At the same time, the takedown of encrypted communication tools used by many criminals, namely Encrochat, Sky ECC and Anom, uncovered how nationals of countries in the Balkan region played a key role in the global cocaine trade, according to Europol.
Upon monitoring this organization, authorities began to notice travel patterns. Its suspected leader traveled to Spain several times while using false identification. Intelligence also found that the Ukrainian and Czech skippers traveled several times to Cape Verde or other locations in West Africa to prepare their vessel for smuggling operations.
Authorities also noted how members of the organization held meetings with Latin American drug suppliers in Croatia and traveled to countries like Colombia and Brazil.
Eventually, authorities noticed a large sailboat that appeared to be loading up cocaine in Brazil. Once it was confirmed that the ship was heading to Spain, authorities got permission to stop and search the vessel.
Upon searching the sailboat, Spanish police found 2,700 kilograms (nearly 6,000 pounds) of cocaine concealed in 89 duffle bags. As the police towed the ship back to the coast, it sank, demonstrating how criminal organizations often use old ships that they can buy for relatively low prices to maximize profits, according to Spanish police.
After Spain discovered the drugs, Serbian police made their move. Besides the four arrests, they conducted raids on 15 homes, seizing €550,000 ($596,500), two high-end vehicles and luxury watches. They also blocked several bank accounts and real estate assets as part of the ongoing financial investigation.
The police report suggested that this operation effectively dismantled the group and more connected arrests could be on the horizon.