Spanish customs officers have seized 2.1 tonnes of cocaine from a yacht in the Atlantic and arrested four crew members, the Spanish tax and customs agency, AEAT, said on Monday.
The drugs were found on a 14-metre yacht about 650 kilometres off the coast of Galicia in north-west Spain. The vessel, which was sailing under a Polish flag, was towed to the port of Vigo.
The four crew members arrested were from Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and Albania. A fifth suspected gang member was later detained in Girona.
AEAT said the case was likely linked to a criminal organisation specialising in drug trafficking by sailing yacht. The group is believed to offer its services to gangs in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
French customs, Polish and British police, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration also took part in the operation.
Spanish customs said the seizure was part of efforts to combat smuggling along the transatlantic cocaine route. On this route, traffickers use sailing boats to transport drugs from South America.
The drugs are often transferred mid-Atlantic before being brought into Europe as discreetly as possible, according to the authorities.
