A boat carrying nearly 500 kilograms of cocaine has been intercepted around 400 nautical miles south of the Canary Islands following a major international anti-drugs operation in the Atlantic. Three crew members were arrested, and the vessel has since been escorted to Gran Canaria.

The operation involved officers from Spain’s Customs Surveillance Service, working alongside the National Police and the Guardia Civil aboard the special operations vessel Petrel I. The boat was intercepted after several days of surveillance in waters south of the archipelago.

The investigation began as part of a joint operation between Spanish and French customs authorities before continuing as part of a wider international operation coordinated through the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre for Narcotics. The effort brought together agencies from several countries to strengthen monitoring of Atlantic drug trafficking routes.

Investigators received intelligence about the suspect vessel while it was operating in the Macaronesia region, the vast maritime area stretching from the Azores to Cape Verde. The Petrel I was redirected towards the target, with support from the French customs vessel Jean Francois Deniau.

The operation was supported by intelligence provided by the UK's National Crime Agency, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Frontex and Portuguese authorities. Information was coordinated in Spain through the Centre for Intelligence Against Terrorism and Organised Crime.

Officials described the boarding as an operation of extreme danger due to rough seas, unstable winds and dense seasonal fog in the area. The challenging conditions prevented any aircraft from assisting at the time of the interception and made it difficult to deploy the smaller boats used to board the vessel.

Despite the risks, officers successfully boarded the boat and seized the drugs. The three crew members, two Brazilian nationals and one Moroccan national, were taken into custody.

The Petrel I, along with the suspects and the seized cocaine, has now arrived at the Port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, where the investigation is continuing.