MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th March, 2021) The Spanish National Police have seized the first ever half-submersible vessel for transporting drugs that was built in Europe, the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) said on Monday.
According to its press release, the vessel was seized in the city of Malaga as part of operation FERRO that is being conducted in close cooperation with Europol and law enforcement agencies of other EU states.
Europol notes that similar vessels captured in the past have always been manufactured in Latin America.
The operation was launched in 2020 to eliminate an organized crime group operating from Spain and involved in large-scale drugs trafficking.
As part of the operation, 47 house searches were carried out in 10 Spanish cities, 52 individuals were arrested, two special boats were seized along with 3 tonnes of cocaine and 0.7 tonnes of hashish. The crime group was composed of Spanish, Colombian and Dominican nationals, involved in large-scale trafficking of cocaine, hashish and marijuana.
Besides Spanish police and Europol, police forces of Colombia, the Netherlands, the UK and the US took part in the operation.
