Interception, with the collaboration of Morocco, of a ship west of the Canaries carrying three tons of cocaine
Morocco – 15 August 2025 (MT Team) : The Spanish Tax Agency’s Customs Surveillance Service and the Spanish Civil Guard, with the cooperation of Morocco, intercepted on Wednesday a tugboat named “Sky White,” which was carrying approximately 3,000 kilos of cocaine, divided into 80 bales of different sizes.
The operation benefited from the international collaboration of the police services of Morocco, France, the United States, the United Kingdom and Portugal, as well as the Intelligence Centre on Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) and the Analysis Centre against Drug Trafficking in the Atlantic (MAOC-N), the Spanish Deputy Directorate of Customs Surveillance (DAVA) said in a statement.
Since the summer of 2024, this vessel was suspected of being used for large-scale international drug trafficking and, thanks to international cooperation, it was intercepted, recalls DAVA, noting that the five crew members on board the Cameroonian-flagged vessel were arrested.
The operation was carried out as part of a case investigated by the Customs Research and Intelligence Directorate (DNRED), in collaboration with the Moroccan authorities, on the criminal group operating with this vessel.
This case was linked to the investigation carried out in Spain by the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, which was investigating the “Sky White” as a supply ship responsible for delivering narcotics to other smaller vessels in areas near the Canary Islands or the Iberian Peninsula.
The investigation was supported by the police services of the United Kingdom (NCA), the United States (DEA) and Portugal (Police Judiciaire), coordinated by CITCO and the Atlantic Drug Trafficking Analysis Centre.
With the support of the Spanish armed forces, a boarding operation was set up on the ship in international waters west of the Canary Islands, the statement said, adding that the operation was carried out from a navy vessel by members of the Civil Guard’s special intervention unit.
On board the vessel, a 22-meter-long tugboat, approximately 3,000 kilos of cocaine were discovered, hidden inside its structure. The vessel was in a deplorable condition for navigation, with serious safety deficiencies that posed a serious risk to the crew, consisting of four people from Bangladesh and one from Venezuela, who were arrested as suspected perpetrators of a drug trafficking crime.
The operation ended with the arrival of the navy ship in Tenerife to unload the drugs and place those arrested in pre-trial detention.
The success of this type of operation is the result of collaboration between organizations specializing in criminal intelligence cooperation at national, European or international level, such as CITCO or MAOC-N, and the various Spanish and French police and customs forces, as well as the unwavering support of the Moroccan authorities, the press release concludes.
