A 29-YEAR-OLD man from Stornoway has been arrested as part of an international drug sting in which 1.2 tonnes of cocaine worth £96 million were seized from a boat.
The man, who has not been named, was skippering a Spanish-registered yacht intercepted by the French navy on December 18 around 1200 miles east of Martinique in the Atlantic.
Two other British crew members have also been arrested and taken to Martinique to face criminal charges.
The operation targeted a crime group suspected of shipping cocaine across the Atlantic and into Europe.
Around 40 bales of cocaine were recovered from the vessel which has an estimated street value of £96m.
Spanish authorities in Marbella and Valencia also arrested five other people suspected of involvement in the shipment.
They included a 62-year-old man, originally from Lincolnshire but now a resident in Spain, and his 24-year-old son.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) worked with the Spanish Policia Nacional, French customs, the French navy and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre Narcotics in Lisbon.
NCA international liaison officer in Madrid, Paul Owen, said: “This multi-national operation has seen a huge consignment of cocaine prevented from reaching Europe, and huge profits denied to organised criminals.
“I have no doubt that some of these drugs were destined for the UK. Tackling these global networks requires international law enforcement co-operation, and I’m grateful to our partners in France, Spain, the Caribbean and MAOC-N for their assistance.”
