A sailing boat carrying over 1,600 kilograms of cocaine was seized last week by the PJ (Judicial Police) about 400 nautical miles from Flores Island in the Azores. The drugs were intended to be unloaded in Portugal before being distributed across several European countries. Two Danish crew members and one Englishman are now in preventive custody.
Known to Authorities
The three crew members were well-known to Portuguese authorities, as well as to the police in their home countries. Associated with drug trafficking, they had long lived between the south of Portugal and Spain, regions where their criminal organization was based.
The Journey
Months ago, they set sail from the Portuguese coast in an 11-meter-long Danish-flagged sailing boat, drawing the attention of the PJ. Subsequent investigations, involving the Maritime-Narcotics Analysis and Operations Center based in Lisbon, revealed that the boat sailed to the Caribbean. There, it was loaded with dozens of bales of cocaine, transported to the boat by fast launches that quickly returned to shore undetected by local police.
From the Caribbean, the boat began its approximately 30-day journey to Portugal, where the drugs were to be unloaded, mostly for Spain, with another portion destined for Denmark, where cocaine sells at a higher price than the average 50 euros per gram charged in the Iberian Peninsula.
The Bust
When the boat was about 400 miles (over 740 kilometers) from Flores Island, it was spotted by an Air Force plane. The PJ received the coordinates and mobilized the Navy, which deployed 50 military personnel for a boarding operation, leading to the arrest of the three crew members, aged between 43 and 51.
Leader Arrested in Spain
Meanwhile, the Spanish National Police arrested the leader of the criminal organization, also Danish, who lived on the Costa del Sol, from where he negotiated the purchase of tons of cocaine with South American cartels.
The traffickers, the sailing boat, and the drugs (transferred to a Navy ship due to poor safety and navigability conditions) were taken to Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island, where the suspects were placed in preventive custody after judicial interrogation.
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