MADRID, May 7 (Reuters) – Spanish police have seized 30 tons of cocaine from a ship off the Canary Islands and detained its 23-member crew without bail in Europe’s largest-ever bust of the drug, the High Court said on Thursday, more than doubling Spain’s previous record.
The Comoro Island-flagged Arconian was intercepted by the Guardia Civil police force on May 1, with a cargo the court valued at more than 812 million euros ($956 million).
The seizure dwarfs the 25 tons recovered by German police at the port of Hamburg in June 2024, previously Europe’s biggest, and is more than twice Spain’s own record of 13 tons, found in a shipment of Ecuadorean bananas at Algeciras last year.
The operation, carried out with U.S. and Dutch authorities, will be detailed by police on Friday.
Investigators believe the cocaine was to be transferred at sea to high-speed boats and smuggled into mainland Spain. Firearms and ammunition were found on board, and six crew members were discovered hiding when officers boarded.
Seventeen of the crew members were from the Philippines, while the six found hiding on board were from the Netherlands and Suriname.
The court ordered the crew held without bail, citing the gravity of the alleged offences, flight risk and the likelihood of further criminal activity while the investigation continues.
($1 = 0.8495 euros)
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Bernadette Baum)
