More than 7,000 kilos of cocaine were seized in an operation to combat international drug trafficking by sea, the Judiciary Police (PJ) revealed.
According to a statement from the PJ, “two fishing vessels were intercepted, about 1,000 nautical miles (approximately 1852 kilometers) from Lisbon, with 10 foreign citizens on board, and more than seven thousand kilos of cocaine was seized.”
Correio da Manhã reports that the two boats were manned by Brazilian nationals, who were caught between Madeira and the Azores.
DIÁRIO knows that five of these individuals were brought before a judge on Friday, with the remaining arriving today. All those presented have been remanded in custody
According to the PJ, the vessels in question were coming from South America and carrying a substantial amount of narcotic product, which would have been loaded off the coast of Brazil.
The investigation coordinated by the Unit to Combat Drug Trafficking acted on information sent by the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N), which reported on a possible transport of narcotics by sea, which was already on its way to Europe, via national waters.
Personnel from the Navy, Portuguese Air Force, and the Judiciary Police carried out the interception. The investigation also had the collaboration of the Federal Police of Brazil, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration, USA), the JIATF West (Joint Interagency Task Force West, USA), and the NCA (National Crime Force Agency, UK).
Also, according to Correio da Manhã, this joint operation by the Judiciary Police, Navy, and Air Force is the largest cocaine seizure in Portugal.
“The final balance could reach eight tonnes,” advances the national newspaper
