Friday 21 October 2011

Four Britons arrested on high seas cocaine operation

CÁDIZ (Agencies) A British-registered catamaran carrying € 1 million of cocaine was towed into port in Cádiz on Tuesday after it was boarded on the high seas in a joint operation by the National Police and the Agencia Tributaria Tax Authority. Three hundred kilos of the drug were found on the vessel when it was boarded 200 miles west of Cape St Vincent, Portugal, last Saturday. Sources say that it had been under surveillance since October and was believed to be heading for Spain. The gang, based in Almería, had also been under investigation; two of its members were arrested at their homes there, where over €50,000 in cash was found. The four crew members were taken into custody in Cádiz. The suspects’ nationalities have yet to be confirmed by the police, but Sky News indicates that the boat’s three crew and one of the suspects who were taken into custody in Almería are all British. The fifth suspect is identified as a Colombian man with British documentation. Spanish officers were assisted in their investigation by the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Guardia Nacional in Venezuela.

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