Spanish police have uncovered a drug route from Europe to South America after intercepting a yacht bound for Argentina that was carrying enough MDMA to make more than 1m ecstasy pills.
Although boats – and the odd “narco-submarine” – have long transported drugs from South America to Europe, the seizure of the boat suggests smugglers are using the reverse route to open up lucrative new markets in countries where ecstasy is less common and prices consequently very high. The Policía Nacional force said the seizure represented the first known case of MDMA being transported on the route.
The international operation, which led to the arrest of five people and the seizure of 56kg of MDMA, began at the end of October when Policía Nacional officers learned that criminal gangs on the Costa del Sol were planning to ship a large quantity of the drug to South America. Police in Argentina then informed them that an Argentinian citizen had left Brazil and arrived in Spain to take charge of the boat that would be used to smuggle the drugs.
The boat, which had been abandoned after being used to bring 1,500kg of cocaine to Spain in 2020, was carefully and clandestinely refitted and stocked by the man and four other Argentinians.
“The arrested men remodelled both the inside and the outside of the boat as part of heavy security measures to ensure that it wouldn’t be linked to the previous police operation,” the Policía Nacional said in a statement.
“As well as avoiding contact with third parties, never leaving the boat unoccupied and loading the vessel with tools and material at ungodly hours, they organised some of their most suspicious movements to coincide with Spain’s World Cup matches in Qatar.”
At the end of November, the name of the boat was changed and two of the suspects set out for Argentina from Cádiz, only to have to put into port at Tarifa on the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula after the vessel broke down. When the repairs had been completed, they left port once again, planning to resupply in the Canary Islands.
The plan, however, was short-lived and the boat was intercepted by customs patrol as it left Tarifa.
“After a search lasting several hours, investigators discovered a secret compartment made from aluminium that had been constructed under the kitchen fittings,” the statement said.
“Once the compartment had been opened, they found 28 packets containing 56kg of MDMA that had been neatly sealed and covered in diesel to mask the smell.”
After arresting three other members of the alleged gang in Marbella, police determined they had been trying to smuggle the drug to Argentina to manufacture between 800,000 and 1.2m pills, depending on purity.
“MDMA is a much scarcer drug in South America than in Europe,” the force said. “This operation has brought to light a new drug route from Europe to Latin American countries that would allow these organisations to reach a new market of millions of potential consumer. The very high value of synthetic drugs in South America also explains why they opted to open up this novel transport route.”
