Four people have been arrested as responsible for transporting the drugs. Two of them controlled the operation from the ground
A home search has been carried out in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, seizing numerous mobile devices from which the transport of drugs was coordinated, as well as documentation that allows linking the detainees.
The boarding took place about 500 miles northwest of the island of Gran Canaria, using air and maritime means of the Civil Guard.
The Civil Guard, within the framework of what has been called Operation Adriatic, has dismantled an international criminal organization, which would be responsible for the introduction of large consignments of cocaine through the Canary Islands.
The investigation begins in March 2022 when the Central Operational Unit (UCO) focuses it on a Polish-flagged sailboat called ROSSIO, which would have established its temporary base on the island of Gran Canaria and about which, through exchanges of information with Croatian police suspected that it could be used to transport cocaine from South America.
“Ndrangheta and Balkan Poster”
From that moment, the activities of the crew began to be monitored, two Italian citizens linked to the 'Ndrangheta and a Croatian closely linked to the "Balkan Cartel". During the following months, it was possible to see how these people, without carrying out any type of professional activity, were capable of maintaining a high standard of living, dedicating themselves exclusively to keeping the sailboat in optimal condition, making small sporadic outings, thus trying to demonstrate an apparent normality.
In this way, it was not until July 27, 2023, when an unusual trip was detected in which the ROSSIO sailboat, with the two Italian crew on board, began sailing towards the west, traveling more than 750 NM, on an itinerary surrounding the Canary Islands that had its destination at an isolated point in the Atlantic Ocean and from which it began its return on August 2.
Approach at 500 NM northwest of Gran Canaria
Three days later, specifically on August 5, the sailboat was boarded at an approximate distance of 500 NM northwest of the island of Gran Canaria, and numerous packages were found inside that yielded a final weight of 700 kg of cocaine.
This action was carried out by members of the Special Intervention Unit (UEI) with the support of the “Rio Guadiato” vessel of the Maritime Service, as well as a plane of the Air Service of the Civil Guard.
At the same time, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Croatian and a Serbian citizen were arrested, who were coordinating the operation from the ground and who at the time of the arrest were carrying the telephones from which they would give instructions to the crew.
International cocaine trafficking routes around the Canary Islands
This investigation corroborates the stability over time of the large European criminal organizations, which are capable of deploying their personnel in different locations for long periods of time, and the geostrategic importance of the Canary Islands in maritime drug trafficking.
The police operation has been carried out by the Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard (Central Anti-Drug Group and ECO Canarias) and coordinated by EUROPOL, together with the police of Croatia, Serbia and the Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate of Palermo in Italy. Various units of the Civil Guard participated in the boarding: Special Intervention Unit (UEI), Provincial Maritime Service of Tenerife, Air Service, as well as personnel from the investigation unit, having been coordinated by the Technical Unit of the Judicial Police (UTPJ). , by the Coordination Center for Maritime Surveillance of Coasts and Borders (CECORVIGMAR) and by the General Staff of the Civil Guard. Likewise, there was support from personnel from the Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas Commands.
The Investigative Court No. 1 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has directed the same, having decreed unconditional imprisonment for all those detained.
