A massive cocaine haul among the largest ever detected in the Atlantic has been intercepted by Spanish authorities, with up to 40 tonnes recovered from a cargo ship near the northwest coast of Africa.
Reports from Sky News indicate that officers from the Guardia Civil carried out the operation as part of a wider anti-drug trafficking effort overseen by Spain’s High Court. The vessel, said to be registered in the Comoros Islands, was halted near Western Sahara, close to Dakhla, after leaving Freetown on April 22.
Authorities revealed that the ship was heading toward the Mediterranean before it was stopped by the Guardia Civil’s Central Operational Unit, which specialises in tackling organised crime.
Officials estimate the seized cargo weighed between 35,000kg and 40,000kg, describing it as a record-setting bust along the Atlantic trafficking route—a major corridor connecting Latin American drug producers to European markets.
The ship has since been escorted to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, where it is being held under court supervision as investigations continue. Authorities have detained 23 suspects linked to the shipment, reportedly including nationals from the Philippines, Angola, and the Netherlands.
Sources involved in the case, speaking anonymously due to the ongoing probe, said the scale of the seizure points to increasingly advanced drug trafficking networks operating through West African waters, which have become a key transit zone for narcotics destined for Europe.
The Asociación Unificada de Guardias Civiles, the Guardia Civil’s main union, has released an image showing the seized cocaine, highlighting the size of the operation.
While authorities have not yet provided an estimated street value, experts say shipments of this magnitude are typically worth billions of dollars once distributed across European markets.