A Spanish-registered yacht has been seized east of Martinique, an island that is part of the French West Indies, and the operation has led to the arrest of three people after cocaine worth £96m ($121m) was found on the yacht.

The arrest was part of an international operation against drug trafficking led by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), collaborating with other agencies in France and Spain to target an alleged drug trafficking group suspected of shipping the drugs to Europe.

Officers found about 40 bales of cocaine, weighing roughly 1.2 tonnes, and all three crew members were taken to Martinique to face charges.

Read more: UN report reveals cocaine in upward trend, meth market expands

According to the NCA, three British nationals were also arrested as part of the operation.

#Narcotrafic 18/12| Saisie de 1,2 t de cocaïne par le Ventôse sur un voilier en ATL à + de 2000 km de la #Martinique : membres d’équipage et cargaison seront remis aux autorités judiciaires à #fortdefrance 2023 ⏩ + de 11 t de produits stup. retirés des réseaux de distribution ! pic.twitter.com/I5DxUY8mtX

— Forces armées aux Antilles (@FAA_Officiel) December 21, 2023

Dinner and an arrest

The same operation prompted the arrest of five people by Spanish authorities in Marbella and Valencia, including a 62-year-old man and his 24-year-old son. They were arrested by Spain’s Policia Nacional at a restaurant in Marbella a few days ago.

NCA’s international network joined forces with Policía Nacional, French customs, the French navy and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre Narcotics (MAOC-N) in Lisbon, Portugal to carry out the operation.

The NCA’s international liaison officer in Madrid, Paul Owen, clarified, “This multinational operation has seen a huge consignment of cocaine prevented from reaching Europe, and huge profits denied to organized criminals. I have no doubt that some of these drugs were destined for the UK.”

“Tackling these global networks requires international law enforcement cooperation, and I’m grateful to our partners in France, Spain, the Caribbean and MAOC-N for their assistance... Working together we are determined to do all we can to target, disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking groups, and prevent them from fuelling violence, intimidation and decay in UK communities,” he added.

Colombian authorities reported back in September the seizure of over one ton of cocaine, with an estimated street value of tens of millions of dollars, following the interception of a "suspicious" motorboat en route to Central America. 

The vessel, identified as a "go-fast" boat, was spotted navigating the waters near the Providencia Archipelago, the sole Colombian territory located in Central America, approximately 110 miles off the Nicaraguan coast. The Maritime Task Group of the Colombian Navy, after an extensive pursuit, successfully intercepted the boat. 

The boat, operated by a crew of five individuals from Colombia, was found to contain 48 packages and 40 unboxed rectangular packages containing a substance deemed suspicious. Upon transferring the boat and its crew to the San Andrés Coast Guard Station, preliminary testing confirmed the substance to be cocaine, according to the navy.