Spain makes the largest seizure of cocaine at sea in its history in an operation supported by the United States

Spanish police on Monday announced the largest seizure of cocaine at sea to date after seizing a Europe-bound container ship carrying nearly 10 tons of the drug in the Atlantic Ocean.

Last week, officers raided the Cameroon-flagged ship, which had left Brazil, seizing 9,994 kilograms (22,033 pounds) of cocaine hidden in 294 packages in a shipment of salt, police said in a statement.

They arrested the 13 crew members and confiscated a firearm used to protect the hideout in an operation in which American, Brazilian, British, French and Portuguese authorities participated, the statement added.

Police posted a 4-minute video on social media showing officers in a speedboat intercepting the suspected drug boat and several suspects being escorted off the boat and taken into custody. The images also show DEA agents at the scene, where agents are seen digging through mounds of salt to discover the suspected drugs.

“This operation, called Marea Blanca, represents the largest seizure of cocaine on the high seas ever carried out by the National Police,” the statement said.

The boat ran out of fuel and drifted in the water for almost 12 hours before being towed to the Canary Islands, police said.

“This represents a decisive blow to international criminal networks involved in maritime cocaine trafficking, demonstrating the effectiveness of international police cooperation in the fight against global drug trafficking,” the police said in a statement.

Spain’s close ties to Latin America and its proximity to Morocco, a major cannabis producer, make it a key entry point for drugs into Europe.

Last October, Spanish police seized 6.5 tons of cocaine and arrested nine people after a notice from the United States He led them to raid a ship off the Canary Islands.

In June 2025, police forces dismantled a drug trafficking network that used what authorities called high-speed narco-boats to smuggle large quantities of cocaine from Brazil and Colombia to the Canary Islands. The ring supposedly used an abandoned shipwreck as a refueling platform for speedboats.

In 2024, Spanish police seized 13 tons of cocaine from a container ship that had arrived in the southern port of Algeciras from Ecuador, the largest drug haul ever made in the country.