A major bust in the has led to 48 arrests after gang members used an abandoned shipwreck in the Atlantic as part of a smuggling operation. Nearly four tonnes of cocaine from Colombia and Brazil were seized during raids in Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, according to Europol.
The gang used 11 narco-boats to ferry the drugs across the Atlantic, with the shipwreck used as a platform for refuelling. Eleven speedboats would liaise with a ship in the Atlantic to pick up the cocaine which would then be carried to the Canary Islands from where it would be distributed.
Operation Black Shadow was led by Spanish police with involvement from Portuguese, Colombian and US forces, the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre as well as Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA).
The NCA confirmed one of those arrested was a British national.
Detectives said the gang used a "complex encrypted" communications system to evade law enforcement, including "satellite terminals, hard-to-trace phones and a coded language".
A total of 29 houses were searched during the operation which was months in the making. Sixty-nine vehicles were seized, including 19 boats and speedboats.
Spanish police said the operation dismantled one of the largest criminal organisations dedicated to trafficking cocaine.
It also said officers detected a network in the Canary Islands which was behind the distribution of the cocaine upon arrival at the popular tourist destination.
Video released by Europol shows masked Spanish police battering down doors, making arrests, searching properties and inspecting hauls of drugs.
An NCA spokesperson said: "Alongside our international partners, we are relentless in our efforts to tackle drug trafficking across borders, ensuring it's seized before it reaches the UK criminal supply chain."
News of the latest drugs bust comes after police intercepted a Venezuelan fishing boat 1,000 miles out to sea in December.
The vessel was carrying 3.3 tonnes of cocaine, but sank as it was being towed to port, according to the BBC.
