Largest narco-boat drug distribution network in the Atlantic dismantled in Spain
Operation 'Sombra Negra' has ended with the arrest of 105 people suspected of smuggling some 57,000 kilos of cocaine into Europe in the past year
C. P. S.
Monday, 26 January 2026, 12:41
The National Police have dismantled the largest network of cocaine trafficking organisations that dominated the Atlantic and Spanish rivers through the use of 'narco-boats'.
According to the investigation, the network smuggled 57,000 kilos of cocaine into Europe through various points in Spain and Portugal, including Malaga.
Operation 'Sombra Negra' has led to 49 searches, 105 arrests and the seizure of 10,400 kilos of cocaine, 70 vehicles, 30 boats, six properties, three firearms, more than 800,000 euros, two drones, multiple bank accounts, more than 150 mobile phones, various nautical equipment and numerous state-of-the-art electronic devices for maritime trafficking worth 2,500,000 euros.
After more than a year of investigation, in November 2025 the police dismantled a criminal network that used high-speed boats to transfer drugs.
The boats would depart from the Guadalquivir river or other rivers in the provinces of Cadiz, Huelva, Almeria, the Canary Islands, the Moroccan coast and Portugal until they reached the Atlantic Ocean. There, they would meet with mother ships in order to transfer the narcotics for their subsequent return to the Canary Islands and the south of mainland Spain.
The high speed of the boats, sometimes exceeding 40 knots, and the use of encrypted communication, satellite terminals, hard to trace mobile phones and coded language, allowed the members of the organisation to operate at night, making police work more difficult.
Almost half a hundred registrations
The structure of the organisation extended from Galicia, Portugal, Huelva, Cadiz, Malaga, Almeria, Gerona and Ceuta, passing through Morocco to the islands of Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Tenerife. A total of 49 searches were carried out in Lanzarote (14), Gran Canaria (14), Fuerteventura (2), Algeciras (11), La Línea de la Concepción (7), Jerez (2).
The police also discovered the largest distribution and money-laundering centre in the Campo de Gibraltar area. From there, the network would communicate information to the members based in various points in Andalucía.
More than a month at sea
The criminal network used complex and advanced strategies, including the use of an at-sea platform, where boat operators could stay for more than a month, carrying out several operations in succession.
The organisation had its own fuel storage centres. It reportedly used 100,000 litres of fuel. Smaller vessels were in charge of supplying petrol, food, communication equipment and clothing for the members responsible for transferring the narcotic substances.
Other members of the organisation, located at checkpoints, would carry out surveillance work to determine the position of the police, both at sea and in the air.
They paid for silence
The organisation would go the distance to secure privacy. It once paid 12,000,000 euros to the family of one of the crew members who died during one of the shipments in order to guarantee that they would stay silent.
The police and security forces of various countries (Spain, the US, Morocco, France, Portugal, Colombia and Cape Verde), as well as Europol, collaborated in this operation. Direct support was also provided by the national intelligence centre (CNI).
The operation was carried out in two phases, the first of which culminated in June 2025, with 48 people arrested and 29 searches in Lanzarote (14), Gran Canaria (13) and Fuerteventura (2). Approximately 100,000 euros, nearly 3,800 kilos of cocaine, 69 vehicles (including 19 boats and jet skis), six properties, bank accounts, three firearms, numerous documents and various tools for maritime trafficking were seized.
The second phase (November 2025) led to 20 searches in Algeciras (11), La Línea de la Concepción (7), Jerez (2) and the seizure of 700,000 euros, two drones, nautical material and numerous state-of-the-art technological devices. A total of 57 people were arrested.
According to the investigation, the network had coordinators in Morocco, Cadiz and the Canary Islands in charge of receiving and distributing drugs from Colombia and Brazil.
