Spanish authorities seize 56kg of MDMA en route to South America
A yacht set to travel to Argentina was found carrying over a million pills
Around 56kg of MDMA has been seized by Spanish police after forces interecepted a yacht bound for Argentina carrying enough ecstasy to produce over a million pills.
According to a police report, the boat had previously been abandoned in 2020 after being used to bring 1,500kg of cocaine to Spain.
The opperation began back in October when the Policía Nacional discovered plans of shipping drugs on the Costa del Sol and this case is the first success of the mission.
Read this next: MDMA may be available for medical treatment "as soon as 2024" in US hospitals
Authrorities in Argentina alerted the Spanish police of the boats movements and five people have been arrested for the smuggling of the large quatity of MDMA.
The police report explains the mission in detail reading: “At the end of November, the detainees renamed the sailboat and two of those investigated started sailing, having to take refuge in the Port of Tarifa, after suffering a breakdown.
"Once these tasks were completed, the crew members began sailing, towards the Canary Islands, where they intended to get supplies to later sail to Argentina.”
Read this next: Colombia’s "pink cocaine" is reportedly spreading through Europe
It continues that the boat was intercepted by customs before leaving Tarifa and after hours of searching, a "secret compartment, created with aluminum plates, which was located under a kitchen cabinet."
"Once they entered said compartment, the agents located 28 packages containing 56 kilograms of MDMA, perfectly sealed and covered in diesel to mask its smell. The agents then proceeded to arrest the three people who had remained in Marbella and who had collaborated with the fitting out of the boat.”
The report adds that this operation highlights a new drug route from Europe to Latin American counrties.
Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Video and Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter