From ABC.es / Albanian drug traffickers are increasingly present in Spain. The Iberian Peninsula is now one of their favorite centers for smuggling cocaine into Europe. The latest major crackdown on cocaine trafficking, with the seizure of 2,100 kilograms on a sailboat about 400 miles off the coast of Galicia, has not only marked a significant seizure, but has also destroyed a network that supplied boats to Eastern European organizations.
It was the Customs Surveillance Service that stopped the sailing ship and arrested the 4 crew members. Both the ship and the drugs, along with the 4 detainees, were transferred to the port of Vigo on Monday. From there, the detainees will appear before the National Court, which is overseeing the investigation.
The investigation into what was dubbed "Operation Maiden" began last February, when the Girona Customs Surveillance Service Unit, based on intelligence information, learned that a sailboat between 13 and 15 meters long was located in a port in the area that could have recently participated in a drug shipment in the border area between Spain and France.
Following this lead, the agents identified a Polish-flagged sailboat, which they immediately focused on due to its characteristics. Another element increased their suspicions about the vessel. The person who appeared to be its owner also had a criminal record for theft and robbery with violence. The sailboat was found in the port of Roses (Girona) last June. The ship then set off with the AIS system deactivated.
From that moment, the agents focused their investigation on the ship and requested information about it from the Polish authorities. Through the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO), they requested data on the ownership of the ship. A few days later, on July 11, the sailboat left the Catalan port. And it did so without activating the AIS location system, which is mandatory when sailing. Without a doubt, this was another element that raised suspicions about the ship.
The ship was lost, but thanks to cooperation with the UK NCA and the US DEA, the Spanish Customs Surveillance Service's special operations vessel "Petrel I" found it electronically in the early hours of September 14, about 400 miles off the Galician coast. It was time to seize it. While boarding the ship, customs agents discovered that the sailboat was carrying a significant amount of packages. In total, there were 70 packages, weighing almost 2,100 kilograms of cocaine.
The agents arrested the four crew members: an Argentine, a Uruguayan, a Colombian and an Albanian. According to investigators, the latter acted as a "notary" for the Eastern European drug traffickers who would receive the cargo. In other words, his role was to prove to their associates that the entire operation was going according to plan.
While the narco-vessel was heading towards the port of Vigo, with the detainees and drugs on board, agents arrested another individual on land, a Chilean citizen residing in the province of Girona. According to Customs, this person was responsible for securing ships with specific characteristics for Eastern European criminal organizations.
However, further arrests are expected. The Customs Surveillance Service anticipates the arrest on land of another individual in the coming days, a Spanish citizen residing in Barcelona. According to investigators, this person was responsible for guarding the ships and trying to detect any approach by the authorities. The agents do not rule out further arrests in an investigation that remains open and is being supervised by the National Court.
Beyond intercepting this sailing ship with almost 2,100 kilograms of cocaine, investigators have managed to uncover the modus operandi of this criminal group, which specialized in transporting narcotics on recreational sailing ships and offered its services to various criminal organizations in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
The Customs Surveillance Service wanted to highlight the close cooperation of the French Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (DNRED), as well as the support of the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center for Drug Trafficking (MAOC-M).
While the investigation is still ongoing and all the details have not yet been revealed, what is clear is that Operation Maiden confirms the growing presence of drug trafficking organizations from Eastern Europe in Spain. Sometimes they operate in collaboration with local traffickers, and other times with more limited support, operating almost entirely independently. ©LAPSI.al
