The Judiciary Police, with the support of the Navy, the National Maritime Authority and the Portuguese Air Force, launched an operation to combat international drug trafficking, by sea, which culminated in the interception of two fishing vessels, on the high seas, around 1000 nautical miles (approximately 1852 kilometers) from Lisbon, with 10 foreign citizens on board, having apprehended more than seven thousand kilos of cocaine.
The investigation coordinated by the PJ’s Unit to Combat Narcotic Trafficking began based on information sent by the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center – Narcotics (MAOC-N), which reported a possible transport of narcotic products, by sea, already underway to Europe, “namely to national territory”.
“The vessels, coming from South America, were transporting a substantial quantity of narcotic product, which would have been loaded off the coast of Brazil”, indicates a statement sent to newsrooms.
With the aim of intercepting the vessels, in order to prevent them from being able to transfer the cocaine bales to high-speed vessels, “a vast set of Navy resources were committed, belonging to the Naval Component of the Force System, the National Maritime Authority, the Air Force and elements of the Judicial Police.
The investigation also included collaboration with the Federal Police of Brazil, the DEA Agency (Drug Enforcement Administration, USA), JIATF West (Joint Interagency Task Force West, USA) and the NCA (National Crime Agency, UK).