Latest news and stories about maritime smuggling in Portugal for expats and residents.
Cocaine trafficking to Europe is rising to record levels, and criminal networks are adapting by using semi-submersible vessels — such as one recently intercepted off the Azores — or by hiding the drug in frozen goods, Europol reports.
Authorities suspect the submersible was built solely to transport large quantities of drugs by sea. The vessel is more sophisticated than the one seized in March last year.
Portugal's Polícia Judiciária (PJ) seized approximately 300 bales of cocaine floating off the coast of the Azores during an operation at around 15:00.
The PJ, with support from the Navy and the Air Force, arrested four people who were aboard a narco-submarine carrying 300 bales of cocaine. It is the third seizure of such a vessel in less than a year.
