Civil Guard, Tax Office and National PoliceAs part of the joint action, 2 thousand kilos of cocaine stored in the ballast tank of a merchant ship in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife were seized. The characteristics of the ship and its method of storage necessitated a comprehensive examination of the ship lasting more than 15 hours to detect the drugs. The demonstration held on December 18, The incident resulted in drug intervention and the arrest of 6 people, 5 of whom were the ship’s crew.
The operation started at 09:00 on the morning of December 18, at the same time as the Italian-flagged ship “Grande Francia” arrived at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is a 214 meter long boat. Ships called ‘Ro-Ro’ that carry wheeled cargo. The merchant ship was coming from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and was traveling on one of the drug trafficking ‘hot routes’, with the next destination being the French port of Marseille.
Following the ship’s arrival in Tenerife, a joint team of Civil Guard and National Police agents and Tax Office officials began carrying out one of the so-called ‘anchorage visits’, with various transfers throughout. More than 15 hours during which all the ship’s facilities were inspected. Material for the ‘recovery’ of drugs During the inspection, a ballast tank belonging to a commercial ship attracted the attention of the detection team. When the tank was opened, several commonly used burlap packages were found inside. for the purpose of transporting drugs by drug trafficking organizations.
A total of 69 bales with a total gross weight of 2,055 kilos of cocaine were detected inside the tank. In addition to the drug bales, various materials (life jackets, positioning devices, ropes, food, fuel bottles, etc.) were also found, which were thought to be used by members of the criminal organization to remove the goods from the ship at that time. . In addition to the seized drugs, six people were arrested, including the ship’s five crew members, one Italian, another Romanian and three Filipino nationals, and a Filipino citizen who was staying on the island at the time.
The detainees, along with the drugs, were handed over to the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Court of Investigation No. 3. The operation was carried out within the framework of normal exchange of information with other national and international organizations.