Cocaine worth £75m seized in SOCA/Spanish transatlantic raid

21 September 2010

A joint Spanish National Police and SOCA operation, targeting cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe, has recovered 1.5 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of £75m.  Once cut and sold at street level it would have been worth up to three times more.

In August the operation located a suspect vessel in Trinidad & Tobago, the Guernsey - registered yacht  La Flibuste  which had recently departed Brazil.  In September the yacht began the journey back across the Atlantic to Europe.

It was intercepted 100 miles off the Spanish coast by the Spanish Navy on Friday 17th   September and towed into the Port of Cadiz where it was searched.

The 1,500 kilos of cocaine had been concealed behind a false bulkhead above the shower area.

The three crew members - two French nationals and one Spanish national - were arrested and now face trial in Spain.