Crime

Massive cocaine seizure in operation off Ibiza

The yacht that was the pick-up for the cocaine.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma20/08/2018 00:00

Customs surveillance officers from Palma and Ibiza were involved in an operation on Saturday night which led to the seizure of some 300 kilos of cocaine of high purity.

Officers observed bales of the drug being thrown into the sea off Ibiza from a Colombian merchant ship. The intention was for these bales to be picked up later by a yacht that was to take the cocaine to Catalonia. It was this yacht which was surrounded by different boats from the customs service and was boarded. Five people were arrested, and further arrests are expected.

The criminal police division of the customs service had been aware of the plan to bring in a significant quantity of cocaine. Additional officers had been drafted in, and once the ship entered Balearic waters, the operation was activated. An initial estimate of the value of the cocaine after adulteration for sale on the drugs market is 25 million euros.

The five people arrested, the yacht and the drugs arrived in Palma in the middle of Sunday afternoon. The five will appear in court in the next few days.