Spanish police seize 10 tons of cocaine on ship off Canary Islands video

Spanish police have carried out the largest maritime cocaine seizure in their history after discovering nearly 10 tonnes of the drug concealed within a shipment of salt on a merchant vessel intercepted off the Canary Islands.

According to a statement issued on January 12 by the Policía Nacional, cited by Caliber.Az, detectives and anti-drug prosecutors had been investigating a multinational criminal network suspected of moving “enormous quantities” of cocaine from South America to Europe. During the investigation, authorities identified a suspect vessel that had departed from Brazil.

🚩Casi 10 toneladas de cocaína escondidas entre un cargamento de sal

👉🏻Es la mayor aprehensión de droga realizada en alta mar por @policia

🤝🏻Con la colaboración de @maoc_n @NCA_UK @DEAHQ @policiafederal y autoridades de 🇫🇷 y 🇵🇹 https://t.co/kgBYd1GIjr pic.twitter.com/iYLwZUJr9l

— Policía Nacional (@policia) January 12, 2026

Last week, officers from the force’s elite Special Operations Group boarded the ship while it was positioned 332 miles (535km) off the Canary Islands and uncovered almost 300 bales of cocaine buried under a load of salt. Thirteen individuals were arrested, and the vessel — having run out of fuel — was towed to the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Video released by the police shows officers using shovels to extract the wrapped packages of cocaine from deep inside the salt-filled hold.

The operation, named White Tide, was conducted with the cooperation of Brazilian federal police, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the UK’s National Crime Agency, and law enforcement authorities in France and Portugal.

According to the police statement, “Thanks to this joint effort, Policía Nacional officers recovered 9,994kg of cocaine packed into 294 bundles that had been hidden among the tonnes of salt the ship was transporting, as well as a firearm that the gang was using to protect the shipment.

“This represents a decisive blow to international criminal networks involved in maritime cocaine trafficking, demonstrating the effectiveness of international police cooperation in the fight against global drug trafficking – and highlighting, once again, the ability of the Policía Nacional to act successfully against criminal organisations with a global reach.”

The previous record for the largest maritime cocaine seizure by the Spanish police was the 7.5 tonnes found on a trawler in July 1999.

In 2024, Spanish police and customs services intercepted the largest-ever cocaine shipment known to have reached the country: more than 13 tonnes of the drug hidden in a container of bananas shipped from Ecuador.

In total, Spanish authorities seized 123 tonnes of cocaine in 2024, compared with 118 tonnes in 2023 and 58 tonnes in 2022.

By Tamilla Hasanova