When search planes and security teams intercepted a Turkish fishing vessel, the AKT 1, authorities found a cargo that could fill six million rows and was valued in the hundreds of millions. Inside the 20-meter vessel lay 2.9 tons of cocaine, a discovery that highlighted the scale of the trafficking operation and the risks involved for those handling the cargo.
On a calm Saturday afternoon, the drug-smuggling vessel arrived at the port of Las Palmas, following a sequence of seizures under the Operation Capirote-Piteas-Acerico umbrella. The operation, coordinated by the Office of the Prosecutor for Drug Enforcement within the National Supreme Court, culminated on the afternoon of April 13 when the Cóndor, a patrol boat of the Customs Surveillance Service, intercepted the vessel 300 miles south of the Canary Islands. Two Turkish sailors and one Georgian were reported to be aboard at the time of capture, with further details released on April 15 from authorities in the Canary Islands region [Citation: Spanish law enforcement brief, 2024].
Before the encounter, intelligence sharing occurred between the Intelligence Center for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) and the multinational Maritime Drug Trafficking Analysis and Operations Center (MAOC-N, based in Lisbon). They exchanged data about AKT1’s movements along a route allegedly organized by Colombian drug networks bridging the Americas and the Sahara coast [Citation: MAOC-N briefing, 2024].
coca shipments
AKT 1 appeared to embark on what looked like a routine fishing operation, configured to hand off the cocaine load to auxiliary vessels designed to keep the cargo hidden from coastal monitoring. The plan reportedly included a transfer to smaller ships that would conceal the shipment from mainland detection, a maneuver typical of routes that funnel drugs toward the Sahara coast and the Canary Islands region. Strong winds and rough seas were noted as complicating factors in the execution of the transfer [Citation: Civil Guard memo, 2024].
Security teams noted the vessel was in poor mechanical condition, earning it the label of a “substandard” craft in maritime terms. The compromised engines and overall state of the boat brought it to the brink of mechanical failure, necessitating a technical stop at Arguineguín before it could be escorted to Las Palmas for further processing and evidence collection. The difficult journey underscored the hazards faced by crews and the challenges of interdicting high-value drug shipments at sea [Citation: Naval inspection report, 2024].
Authorities describe the area where the seizure occurred as part of the so-called African corridor, a maritime zone well known to patrol units for its mix of fishing activity and drug trafficking risk. The waters off this region have long drawn fishing boats from various nations, drawn by nutrient-rich currents, while mid-level intermediaries connected to Colombian networks often use them as floating staging points for transfers across the Atlantic. The operation demonstrated the persistent pattern of turning maritime routes into convenient transit spaces for narcotics—an ongoing challenge for law enforcement and customs services alike [Citation: regional maritime security briefing, 2024].