International Operation Seizes 12 Tons of Cocaine in Atlantic Trafficking Corridor

Europol coordinated an international law enforcement operation from April 13 to April 26 that targeted drug trafficking routes from Latin America to Europe and disrupted what authorities call the "cocaine highway" in the Atlantic Ocean. 5 metric tons of hashish were seized. Eight vessels were intercepted and 54 people were arrested during the two-week mission.

Law enforcement agents were deployed to detect, track and intercept vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the area between Spain's Canary Islands and Portugal's Azores. The operation focused on that stretch of ocean, known to authorities as the "cocaine highway" because of frequent trafficking activity there.

The targeted networks moved cocaine from parts of Latin America to Europe through complex at-sea transfers designed to evade detection by avoiding major ports.

Criminal networks are increasingly moving cocaine offshore to reduce exposure to law enforcement at major ports, Europol said. " These piecemeal drug transfers fragment the risks to those involved. The intelligence gathered during the operation helped authorities gain a better understanding of how the evolving networks work.

CBS News reported that the mission reinforced patterns Europol had identified earlier this year. The agency said the results demonstrated that criminal networks are becoming increasingly flexible and internationally connected.

But our response is evolving fast too," said Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, Europol's deputy executive director of operations. " Lecouffe said Europol will use the new intelligence to build on the intelligence gathered to help identify and dismantle the criminal networks behind these trans-Atlantic operations. The mission involved multiple international law enforcement bureaus coordinated by Europol.