Tug Seized off the Canary Islands With 3,361 Kilograms of Cocaine in 139 Bales
The pursuit ended in a collision and an exchange of gunfire that damaged the patrol boat
Spanish police and Civil Guard forces, working with customs authorities and international agencies including the US Drug Enforcement Administration, intercepted the tug GT Victory in the Atlantic near the Canary Islands on 1 September carrying more than 3,300 kilograms of cocaine.
The vessel was being used in an attempt to open a new route for moving drugs from the Canary Islands to the Spanish mainland, a leg that would replace the long ocean crossing with a shorter domestic passage.
The interception was violent. The pursuit ended in a collision between the two vessels and an exchange of gunfire, which caused significant damage to the patrol boat and left several crew members of the GT Victory injured. The severity of those injuries has not been disclosed.
Eight detainees, Albanian and Filipino nationals, were transferred to Gran Canaria, where they remained pending appearance before a judge. The case is being handled by the National Court. The tug itself was seized and taken into custody at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
During the search of the vessel, Spanish security forces recovered 139 bales of drugs with a total weight of 3,361 kilograms. Tests on the seized substance confirmed it as cocaine, making the haul one of the largest ever recorded in the Canary Islands.
Only one Spanish seizure has been larger. That was the consignment taken last May aboard the Arconian, at 30,215.84 kilograms, which remains the largest drug seizure recorded in Spain.
The choice of hull matters more than the tonnage involved. An ocean-going tug attracts little attention on an Atlantic track, carries fuel for long unsupported passages and has deck and void spaces that were never designed to be cargo spaces, which is precisely why the type keeps appearing in these cases. Spanish forces were fired on during a separate interception weeks earlier, when they arrested ten smugglers who opened fire on a customs patrol boat.
