The Spanish judicial authorities stated on the 7th that Spanish police intercepted a cargo ship near the Canary Islands, seizing about 30 tons of cocaine.
Spain's highest criminal court—the National Court—said in a judicial order that the seized cocaine is valued at 812 million euros (about 3.73 billion ringgit).
With cooperation from the US Drug Enforcement Administration and Dutch police, the Spanish Guardia Civil intercepted the cargo ship in international waters about 300 kilometers from Tenerife Island on the night of the 1st and escorted it to the port of Las Palmas on Gran Canaria Island on the afternoon of the 3rd.
The cargo ship is about 90 meters long and flies the flag of Comoros. There were 23 crew members on board: 17 from the Philippines, 5 from the Netherlands, and 1 from Suriname. The ship departed from Sierra Leone in West Africa on April 22 and was believed to be heading to Libya.
Law enforcement officers discovered the drugs hidden within the ship's structure. An inventory showed the ship was carrying 1,279 packages of cocaine, with a total weight of about 30 tons.
Earlier this year, Spanish police seized nearly 10 tons of cocaine on a ship in the Atlantic.