Portugal’s Criminal Investigation Police (Polícia Judiciária – PJ), through its National Anti-Narcotics Unit, carried out in recent days a major operation against transcontinental maritime drug trafficking, in coordination with the Navy and the Air Force. The operation resulted in the location and interception, on the high seas, of a semi-submersible vessel used to transport several tons of cocaine.

Inside the vessel, which had departed from Latin America and was crewed by four foreign nationals—three Colombians and one Venezuelan—authorities found 300 bales of cocaine, totaling approximately nine tons of the drug.

The interception took place on the high seas, about 230 nautical miles from the Azores, under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions due to severe adverse weather.

The operation, which also involved support from the Azores Criminal Investigation Department of the PJ, was launched following close cooperation and coordination between the Portuguese Criminal Police and authorities from the United States—the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) and JIATF-S (Joint Interagency Task Force South)—as well as the United Kingdom’s NCA (National Crime Agency), within the framework of the MAOC-N (Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics).

The investigation is ongoing under the responsibility of the PJ, in coordination with partner authorities from other countries, as part of a judicial inquiry overseen by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (DIAP) of the Azores judicial district.

The four detained men appeared yesterday before the Ponta Delgada court for an initial judicial hearing to determine the coercive measures to be applied.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.