National Police and Tax Administration authorities blocked a heavily loaded six-ton marijuana boat in the southern Canary Islands, targeting an international drug trafficking network led by a major operator from the Alicante region. The operation, coordinated with national security forces, resulted in five arrests, including a suspected ringleader who had evaded capture for months during earlier cross-border police actions.
The network’s Madrid-Alicante corridor was organized by a prominent crime figure who oversaw a large logistics framework. This structure enabled the distribution of substantial drug consignments across multiple European nations, linking seizures across Spain with broader European enforcement efforts.
In Alicante, Murcia, Las Palmas, and Madrid, authorities cataloged six entry points and seized material including over 35,000 euros in cash, two boats, and a vehicle. One warehouse operation in Murcia revealed a hidden synthetic drug synthesis lab, highlighting the industrial scale of the operation.
The interception occurred when National Police and the Customs Inspection Service of the Tax Agency stopped a boat found loaded with more than six tons of marijuana off the southern Canaries coast. The case involved international cooperation across several law enforcement agencies, including the Portuguese Judicial Police, Swedish Police, Dutch Police through the Scandinavian Interior Attaché in Spain, and French authorities (DNRD) along with the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center (MAOC) in Lisbon.
The investigation began in 2020 with the Central Narcotics Brigade when a sailboat docked at Lanzarote drew suspicion as a possible maritime drug operation. After extensive inquiry, investigators shared information with European police partners and international organizations. Dutch authorities later indicated that a Netherlands-based criminal network was connected to the vessel under scrutiny in Spain.
operations center in Alicante
Police confirmed the capture of a key individual who managed the logistics for the international operation. The Netherlands-based network used a town in Alicante as its operational hub. One figure directed the Spanish logistics and infrastructure, maintaining strong international ties and coordinating large-scale drug transport across European borders.
Members of the organization operated with tight security and employed a sophisticated, highly planned mechanism. They traveled between jurisdictions to finalize illicit deals, complicating police work and extending the case across borders.
cache
After monitoring the organization’s movements for months, investigators traced a vessel to Torrevieja. There was intelligence suggesting the crew was prepared for a transatlantic run, possibly toward the Americas. When the patrol boat Condor and the DAVA unit intercepted the craft 95 miles south of the Canaries, authorities seized 6,044 kilograms of marijuana packed into 169 bales and detained the two crew members.
Ongoing investigations led to six additional searches across Alicante, Murcia, Madrid and Gran Canaria. In these actions, authorities recovered further cash, multiple mobile and satellite devices, documents linked to the organization’s boats, and another vehicle.
Lab
A warehouse search in Murcia uncovered a clandestine laboratory dedicated to synthetic drug design. Investigators found substantial quantities of precursor material used to manufacture pills, along with industrial machinery for tablet production and a large inflatable 12-meter boat used for illicit transport.
In Alicante, searches at the residence of one detainee uncovered small quantities of additional narcotics such as precursors and mixed substances including pink cocaine, hashish, marijuana, and crystal, as well as caches suitable for retail distribution.
Fugitive
Five individuals, including the alleged leader behind the international crime operation, were arrested in the course of the operation. The case encompassed drug trafficking and money laundering; one suspect who had faced a 15-year sentence abroad remained elusive earlier in the proceedings.