International operation disrupts "cocaine highway" across the Atlantic Ocean
CBS News • • world
Key Points:
- A two-week international operation coordinated by Europol disrupted a major cocaine trafficking route in the Atlantic Ocean, seizing over 12 tons of cocaine and 9.5 tons of hashish, intercepting eight vessels, and arresting 54 individuals.
- The operation targeted complex at-sea drug transfers between Latin America and Europe, particularly in the area between Spain's Canary Islands and Portugal's Azores, known as the "cocaine highway."
- Europol confirmed that traffickers are increasingly using fragmented maritime routes involving multiple offshore transfers to evade detection at major ports, spreading risks among participants.
- The intelligence gathered during the mission improved understanding of evolving trafficking networks and will assist Europol in identifying and dismantling criminal organizations involved in trans-Atlantic drug operations.
- Europol emphasized the growing flexibility and international connectivity of these criminal networks and highlighted the need for adaptive law enforcement responses to combat them effectively.
