The Tax Agency intervenes the sailboat “Seute Deern” with a cargo of 2,100 kilos of cocaine in Atlantic waters

The Tax Agency has intervened nearly 2,100 kilos of cocaine aboard the sailboat “Seute Deern”, located about 400 nautical miles off the Galician coast. The sailboat, flagged in Poland, has been towed to the port of Vigo.

The operation, named “Doncella”, has so far resulted in five arrests and has dismantled a network dedicated to facilitating vessels for the transportation of large quantities of drugs by sea.

The sailboat had set sail from the port of Roses (Girona) on July 11, with the AIS turned off, when authorities were already tracking it due to information related to a possible illegal operation in the border area between Spain and France.

The Tax Agency, with the collaboration of the British NCA and the US DEA through MAOC-N, followed the route of the sailboat until locating it in Atlantic waters.

The Special Operations vessel “Petrel I”, from the Customs Surveillance Service, was responsible for locating and boarding the sailboat. Inside, agents found 70 bales of cocaine, distributed across different areas of the vessel, weighing nearly 2,100 kilos.

The four crew members of the sailboat, citizens of Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, and Albania, were arrested. During the subsequent towing of the vessel to Vigo, agents also arrested a Chilean citizen residing in Girona on land, whom investigators attribute with recruiting vessels for the organization.

Meanwhile, the investigation remains open and further arrests are not ruled out.

Photos: Xosé Soto for puentedemando.com