The Arconian operation - Anatomy of a record Atlantic cocaine shipment - trafficking on cargo vessels from West Africa to Europe
The Arconian operation - Anatomy of a record Atlantic cocaine shipment - trafficking on cargo vessels from West Africa to Europe
On 1 May 2026, Spanish authorities seized more than 30 tonnes of cocaine from the Arconian, a Comoros-flagged dry bulk vessel intercepted off the coast of Western Sahara — the largest single cocaine seizure in recorded history. The shipment, most likely loaded in Freetown, Sierra Leone, was destined for transfer to smaller speedboats near the Canary Islands before onward distribution across Europe. Hidden aboard alongside a Filipino crew were six armed men — five Dutch, one Surinamese — several with prior charges for cocaine trafficking and money laundering in the Netherlands. (Global Initiative against transnational organized Crime, Genf, 08.06.2026)
https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/the-arconian-operation/