A shipment of nearly 6.5 tonnes of cocaine was seized near the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, in the Atlantic Ocean, on a semi-submersible vessel bound for the Iberian Peninsula, the Portuguese Judicial Police announced on Tuesday.
The amount of seized drugs accounts for more than a quarter of all the cocaine confiscated in Portugal in 2024 (23 tonnes), a record year for the country, which is often seen as a gateway for the illicit substance into Europe.
The vessel, used by a transnational criminal organisation, was intercepted “in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 500 nautical miles” (over 900 km) south of the Azores with “five crew members on board,” according to the police statement.
This seizure was “made possible through an exchange of information between the Spanish Civil Guard and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre for Narcotics (MAOC-N), based in Lisbon,” the Judicial Police statement added.
In addition to the Portuguese Navy and Air Force, other agencies such as the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) also participated in this operation, codenamed 'Nautilus.'
The investigation will continue in cooperation with authorities from other countries, the Portuguese police indicated.
