Five tonnes of cocaine seized from container ship off Portugal

Portuguese authorities have seized around five tonnes of cocaine from the container ship Maersk Nokwanda during an operation in the Atlantic Ocean. The Maritime Telegraph reports that the vessel was intercepted about 640 nautical miles west of Lisbon as part of a joint operation involving Portuguese police, navy and air force.

The Hong Kong-flagged ship was escorted to the port of Sines, where investigators searched the vessel. They found the cocaine hidden in internal spaces believed to be tanks or void areas. Officers also found equipment allegedly intended to transfer drug packages from the ship to other boats at sea.

Investigators believe the traffickers planned to move the cocaine offshore to high-speed boats. The boats would then carry the drugs to the coast of Portugal or Spain. Portuguese authorities say criminal groups are increasingly using this method to avoid security checks at major container terminals.

Two stowaways, an Italian and a Colombian national, were also detained after being found aboard the vessel illegally. An Indian crew member was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the trafficking operation.

Portuguese authorities later confirmed that the crew member was found dead in a detention cell on 5 August. Local media reported that he may have died by hanging. The circumstances of his death remain under investigation.

Before the interception, the container ship had called at Posorja and Machala in Ecuador, Buenaventura in Colombia, and Balboa and Colón in Panama. It was then crossing the Atlantic towards the Mediterranean.

The investigation into the drug trafficking network is still ongoing.

 

Picture: Credit: Portugal's Judicial Police