Cape Verdian police seize 9.5 tonnes of cocaine

Praia, Cape Verde (PANA) – Cape Verdian judicial police has seized 9.5 tonnes of cocaine, the largest quantity ever seized in the island and probably in all the African continent.

Sources at PJ, quoted Saturday by the Cape Verdian news agency (INFORPRESS), said that the narcotic drug was hidden in a cargo that landed in Cape Verde from Latin America, but was bound for the Moroccan city of Tangier as its final destination.

All crew members, 11 men of Russian nationality, were arrested while waiting for their appearance before the court.

The ship carrying the illegal cargo stopped over at Praia port to fulfill legal procedures linked to the death of a crew member on board, said the same sources.

The Cape Verdian police said they were informed long before about a suspected vessel carrying an unknown quantity of drug.

According to the same sources, the operation took place after an operational sharing of information with the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre - Narcotics (MAOC-N) based in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

This case, taking place after several others, shows that the island is located on a way of drug trafficking, linking Latin America, Europe and Africa.

-0- PANA CS/IZ/CJB/JSG/MSA/AR 2Feb2019