**Authorities uncover a complex smuggling network transporting cocaine from South America to Europe through the Canary Islands, with significant law enforcement collaboration.**
**Major Cocaine Trafficking Ring Dismantled in Canary Islands**
**Major Cocaine Trafficking Ring Dismantled in Canary Islands**
**Coordinated international police operation leads to massive drug seizure and multiple arrests.**
A significant drug trafficking operation has been disrupted in the Canary Islands, with police seizing nearly four tonnes of cocaine and arresting 48 individuals linked to a sophisticated smuggling network. The operation, known as Operation Black Shadow, involved international collaboration among law enforcement from Europe, South America, and the United States.
According to Spain's Policia Nacional, the suspects utilized a fleet of 11 speedboats, referred to as "narco boats," to ferry cocaine from Brazil and Colombia across the Atlantic Ocean to the islands of Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote. Investigators revealed that the traffickers had devised an intricate strategy, even employing an abandoned shipwreck as a mid-ocean refueling station.
Europol highlighted that the gang maintained a highly encrypted communication system to evade capture, using satellite communications, untraceable mobile devices, and coded language to coordinate their operations. The meticulously planned raids, involving the search of 29 properties and the seizure of 69 vehicles—including boats and jet skis—also uncovered cash, arms, and additional evidence of the network’s extensive operations.
Spanish authorities labeled the dismantling of this organization as a significant achievement in combating cocaine trafficking to Europe, a lucrative market for South American cartels. They also identified a local distribution network in the Canary Islands tasked with redistributing the drugs once they arrived from overseas.
Notably, this raid is part of a broader effort to address the increasing flow of narcotics into the region. In December, police intercepted a Venezuelan fishing vessel carrying 3.3 tonnes of cocaine at sea. An official from the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) stated that they, alongside international partners, remain committed to preventing drug trafficking that threatens not only local communities but also broader European supply chains.
