Spain Seizes Record Cocaine at Sea

January 12, 2026

This undated handout photo released on January 12, 2026 by Spanish National Police shows Spanish police posing in front of some of the nearly 10 tons of cocaine seized on a cargo ship that was sailing across the Atlantic between Brazil and Spain, at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands. Spanish police announced on January 12, 2026 that they seized nearly 10 tons of cocaine, the largest cocaine seizure on the high seas ever made by the National Police, hidden among a shipment of salt on a cargo ship sailing across the Atlantic that had departed from Brazil, and arrested all 13 people on board. (Photo by Handout / Spanish National Police / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / POLICIA NACIONAL" - HANDOUT - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Spanish police announced on Monday their largest-ever seizure of cocaine at sea after impounding a Europe-bound container ship in the Atlantic Ocean carrying almost ten tonnes of the drug.

Officers last week raided the Cameroon-flagged vessel, which had left Brazil, seizing 9,994 kilogrammes (22,033 pounds) of cocaine concealed in 294 packages in a shipment of salt, police said in a statement.

They arrested the 13 crew members and seized a firearm used to protect the stash in an operation involving US, Brazilian, UK, French and Portuguese authorities, the statement added.

Spain’s close ties with Latin America and proximity to Morocco, a top cannabis producer, make it a key entry point for drugs into Europe.

In 2024, Spanish police impounded 13 tonnes of cocaine from a container ship that had arrived at the southern port of Algeciras from Ecuador, the country’s largest-ever haul of the drug.

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