Drug test on arrival
A significant disruption to drug trafficking in Gijón unfolded when a Colombian man, aged 58, was found amid a large cocaine shipment he attempted to smuggle into Spain from the El Musel port. He traveled as a stowaway on the vessel Iraklis, which had departed from Barranquilla, Colombia. The operation, conducted on a Monday afternoon by agents from the National Police, Customs Surveillance, and the Civil Guard, confirmed the seizure of cocaine in the amount of roughly 120 kilograms. The drugs were divided into four bales and handed over to the authorities by a court decision. Investigators continued to inspect the ship late into the night to ensure no additional concealed bales remained on board.
The Iraklis is an 180-meter-long, 31-meter-wide Liberian-flagged vessel crewed by personnel from the Philippines. It arrived at the North Pier around 4:30 in the afternoon at the expansion area. The crew had left the Barranquilla port on March 5 after five days in port. The ship is primarily used to transport dunite, a mineral important to steel production. Yet beyond legitimate cargo, substantial quantities of cocaine were aboard, with the Colombian stowaway attempting to hide the narcotics during the voyage. The ship’s captain raised an alarm after noticing the individual hidden within a structure on the deck. The Iraklis had previously called at other ports, including Puerto Cabello in Venezuela and Rio Grande in Brazil, before reaching its current destination.
The incident activated the standard protocol for stowaway cases at Al Musel, overseen by the Border Unit of the National Police Border Post. With a magistrate present, a drug test was administered to the detainee, and the test returned positive for narcotics. He was immediately placed under arrest as the investigation continued. Officers from the Civil Guard and the Customs Surveillance service, stationed at the northern pier, joined the operation. The arrested man awaits formal statements before facing trials on drug trafficking charges. The case remains under active investigation.
Inspecting the vessel and broader context
During the operation at El Musel, authorities examined the ship beyond the initial discovery to rule out further concealment. The episode came five days after a police raid in the Tremañes industrial area reported by regional media. Reports indicate a separate discovery involving thousands of cannabis plants and substantial quantities of packaged buds. In a past incident from May 2022, around 175 kilograms of cocaine were seized from a ship named Magda P hidden in a chain box at the port of Gijón. The same port had previously witnessed activity linked to a vessel known as River, which had remained docked for two years after its crew faced extensive searches and multiple seizures while offloading drugs to coastal areas of Asturias. Several crew members were detained and faced potential convictions in national courts, though not all prosecutions concluded with a verdict at the time of report publication.
Authorities emphasize ongoing vigilance against smuggling networks that exploit maritime routes to move narcotics. Stowaway cases, routine cargo inspections, and cross-agency collaboration remain central to countering these operations. While the El Musel episode highlights a single sailor’s attempt to smuggle cocaine, it fits within a broader pattern of illicit activity observed at multiple ports along the Atlantic coast, where shipments often mix legitimate goods with contraband. Law enforcement officials reiterate the need for thorough checks and continued investigation to deter similar schemes and disrupt trafficking networks at their source and transit points.