The arrest was done about 80 kilometers off the coast of La Palma, north of the island that is part of the Canary Islands.
Of the two people on board, one was seriously injured by the fierce fire on the boat. It is unclear whether it is the Dutchman. The Spanish authorities found 25 kilos of cocaine on board the sailboat after the extinguishing work, reports the Spanish police.
One of the arrested boarders of the drug boat who sailed about 80 kilometers from La Palma. © Spanish police
When the drug smugglers realized that they had been discovered on the high seas, they set fire to the boat to sink. In this way they tried to prevent the seizure of the drugs and thus a conviction for drug trafficking, which would end up behind bars for many years.
VIDEO: See the conscious action here.
Due to the dangerous action, one of the drug traders was seriously injured, he suffered heavy burns. The victim had to be evacuated by helicopter from the maritime rescue service to a hospital on Tenerife. Both men have been arrested.
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Before the boat sank, agents managed to intercept 25 kilos of drugs, the three authorities reported in a joint statement on Monday. Sources close to the operation suspect that on the boat that has a length of 13 meters, partly because there has been smuggling in this way more often in the past, a few hundred kilos may have been on board.
Research has shown that the boat previously sailed during a trip in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela and Guyana and then headed for Spain, a journey that could last three to four weeks.
The Spanish police managed to extinguish the fire on the Dutchman’s cokeboat. © Spanish police
One scenario that the detectives are investigating is that the ship left Suriname or Brazil, although this has not yet been confirmed. The final destination of the load is also unclear, since agents suspect that the ship set course for waters near Spain and Portugal.
Perhaps the boat had been transferred to the drugs from a larger boat at sea, and it was intended to land the contraband at some point. The police strongly take into account that the vessel eventually had to travel to Northern Europe, possibly to the Netherlands.
The operation was part of sharpened controls at sea near the Canary Islands. We mainly look at ships that follow different routes or have not switched on their geolocation equipment – which shows where a ship is located – as was the case with this sailboat.
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In this case, the Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Intelligence Center (CITCO, part of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior) received a warning from the British National Crime Agency (NCA) and the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
He read that a ship may transported a clandestine load near the Canary Islands. On images that were distributed by the Ministries of Finance and the Interior on Monday, you can see how two vessels of customs – the patrol boot Sacre and the special operation ship Petrel I – try to board the Czech sailing boat Lona, which sails in rough sea and fled.
According to sources that are familiar with the operation, the pursuit lasted almost an hour, until the crew, which was aware that they could not escape, set the sailing boat on fire, probably with the help of gasoline and a torch.
One of the crew members was taken out of the water by a rescue team. © Spanish police
At that time, the action changed into a rescue operation. While the Petrel had the task of removing the two alleged drug traders from the water, the crew of the patrol boat Sacre concentrated on extinguishing the fire.
After the flames seemed to be able to get on board, various agents succeeded. “Because of the earlier fire and the substances used to cause the fire, the drugs had attached themselves to the hull of the boat and they fell apart when we tried to loosen them,” said a person involved.
Sailing boat made of fiber optic sank
“We were able to intercept those 25 kilos under those circumstances.” Those present feared that the fire could flare up again, which also happened.
The rescue operation and the attempt to keep the boat from the drug traders floating lasted a few hours in total. “The operation was very risky for the agents.”