Spanish police and customs agents seized 3.3 tons of cocaine from a Venezuelan fishing boat off the Canary Islands, arresting all 10 crew members on board, local officials announced Saturday.
The vessel, operating with no lights, carried 110 bundles of cocaine, each weighing approximately 30 kilograms. The authorities deemed the boat unsafe to tow and sank it after the interception.
The arrested crew members, identified as Latin American nationals, were transported to the port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands for further investigation.
The operation follows an international investigation involving the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and police forces in Brazil and Portugal.
The probe, which began in mid-November, uncovered a transnational criminal network attempting to smuggle large cocaine shipments from Latin America to Europe, according to Spanish authorities.
Spain is a major entry point for cocaine into Europe. In October, authorities in Algeciras seized a record 13 tons of cocaine, the largest seizure in the country’s history.