On July 7, 2025, in waters near Canary Islands, a joint operation was carried out by the Civil Guard, the National Police, and Customs Surveillance. During this intervention, a sailing boat loaded with cocaine was located about 50 miles from the islands.
The sailing boat was detected thanks to the patrol vessel ‘Sacre’, which received support from the special operations vessel ‘Petrel I’. Upon noticing the presence of the authorities, the crew of the sailing boat set fire on board, leaving one of them seriously injured, who was evacuated by Maritime Rescue.
Intervention and findings
Despite the sinking of the sailing boat and the destruction of a large part of the drugs due to the fire, 25 kilos of cocaine were recovered. The operation is part of a plan to intensify surveillance and control of maritime spaces in the area, involving the vessels ‘Petrel I’ and ‘Sacre’.
The investigation was based on information from the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom and the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States, which was channelled through the Maritime Drug Trafficking Analysis Centre in the Atlantic. This cooperation was coordinated nationally by the Intelligence Centre for Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO).
Arrests and consequences
The operation posed a high risk due to the poor sea conditions and the intentional fire set by the crew. Officials from the Customs Surveillance Service managed to initially extinguish the fire and carry out the boarding, recovering part of the cargo before the fire reignited and destroyed a large part of the shipment and the vessel, a ‘sloop’ named ‘Lona’.
The two crew members of the sailing boat, of French and Dutch nationality, have been arrested. The seriously injured crew member was airlifted by Maritime Rescue. On Friday, the two vessels of the Customs Surveillance Service, along with the detainees and the recovered drugs, arrived at Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
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