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A medium-sized green boat with the works 'Guardia Civil' on the side sails in the ocean. There are a few silhouettes of smaller boats in the far distance.
Lead signal
drug trafficking/BBC News

Record amount of cocaine seized from ship in Atlantic Ocean by Spanish police, union says

6 minutes agoElla KiplingGetty ImagesThe cocaine was found by Spain's Civil Guard (file image)Spanish police have seized what is thought to be a national record haul of cocaine from a ship in the Atlantic Ocean.Between 30,000 to 45,000kg (33 to 50 tonnes) were found when the Civil Guard intercepted a freighter in international waters, the body's main union, the AUGC, announced. It called the move a "historic blow to drug trafficking". The vessel was intercepted off Spain's Canary Islands on Friday and around 20 people were arrested, the AUGC told the AFP news agency. It had travelled from Sierra Leona and was on its way to Libya. The Civil Guard has declined to give details of the investigation for legal reasons.Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters in Madrid that the seizure was "one of the biggest, not only nationally but internationally".The Civil Guard shared a photograph on X showing the drugs stuffed into the hold of the intercepted vessel. "Today history is being written in the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard," it wrote."Intercepted in international waters the largest known seizure: between 30,000 and 45,000 kg of cocaine on board a freighter."While the boat was headed to Libya, AFP reported

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‘It’s like a cat and mouse game’: on the frontline of Belgium’s fight against drug smugglers
Fast moving
drug trafficking/The Guardian

‘It’s like a cat and mouse game’: on the frontline of Belgium’s fight against drug smugglers

Sara Van Cotthem takes a safety knife and precisely slices open the side of a cardboard box to unpack its contents, an aluminium stepladder made in China. Working under harsh fluorescent lights at the border inspection post at the port of Antwerp, Van Cotthem checks the paperwork and taps the ladder with a magnet to check if it really is aluminium and not another metal.It is an everyday operation for customs officers at Antwerp, one of Europe’s main commercial gateways, which handled the equivalent of 13.6m 20ft-long (6 metres) containers last year. Everything is in order and the lorry, jam-packed with identical boxed ladders, can get on its way to Germany.But it’s not always so straightforward. Along with routine attempts to evade duties or import counterfeit goods, customs officers are grappling with relentless efforts by violent criminals to smuggle drugs, especially cocaine, into Europe.Sara Van Cotthem at work at the port of Antwerp. Photograph: Judith Jockel/The GuardianVan Cotthem explaining the scanning procedure. Photograph: Judith Jockel/The GuardianAntwerp is one of Europe’s main entry points for cocaine: authorities seized 483 tonnes of the drug between January 2019 and June 2024, the largest amount among 17 ports reporting to the European Union Drugs

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Governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state steps down after US drug indictment
Context
drug trafficking/CNN

Governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state steps down after US drug indictment

Mexico City — The governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa said on Friday he will temporarily step down from his post, days after he was indicted in the US on drug trafficking charges. Ruben Rocha Moya, the governor of Sinaloa since 2021, and nine current or former high-ranking Mexican officials were charged in a five-count indictment unsealed Wednesday with allegedly helping a faction of the cartel led by the Chapitos, the sons of Joaquin Guzman Loera — also known as El Chapo. Local lawmakers approved Rocha Moya’s request to take a leave of absence on Saturday and appointed Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde as interim governor. Until now, Bonilla Valverde served as Sinaloa’s Secretary of Government. Prosecutors in New York allege Rocha Moya met with the Chapitos prior to his election and assured them that if elected, he would put officials friendly to their drug trafficking operations into power. Cartel members stole ballot boxes and kidnapped or intimidated opponents to drop out of the race to ensure his victory, according to the indictment. In a video message released Friday evening, Rocha reiterated his rejection of the charges said that his request to step aside aims to “facilitate the actions of Mexican

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More in Drug Trafficking

A medium-sized green boat with the works 'Guardia Civil' on the side sails in the ocean. There are a few silhouettes of smaller boats in the far distance.
drug trafficking/BBC News

Record amount of cocaine seized from ship in Atlantic Ocean by Spanish police, union says

6 minutes agoElla KiplingGetty ImagesThe cocaine was found by Spain's Civil Guard (file image)Spanish police have seized what is thought to be a national record haul of cocaine from a ship in the Atlantic Ocean.Between 30,000 to 45,000kg (33 to 50 tonnes) were found when the Civil Guard intercepted a freighter in international waters, the body's main union, the AUGC, announced. It called the move a "historic blow to drug trafficking". The vessel was intercepted off Spain's Canary Islands on Friday and around 20 people were arrested, the AUGC told the AFP news agency. It had travelled from Sierra Leona and was on its way to Libya. The Civil Guard has declined to give details of the investigation for legal reasons.Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters in Madrid that the seizure was "one of the biggest, not only nationally but internationally".The Civil Guard shared a photograph on X showing the drugs stuffed into the hold of the intercepted vessel. "Today history is being written in the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard," it wrote."Intercepted in international waters the largest known seizure: between 30,000 and 45,000 kg of cocaine on board a freighter."While the boat was headed to Libya, AFP reported

2 hr ago
‘It’s like a cat and mouse game’: on the frontline of Belgium’s fight against drug smugglers
drug trafficking/The Guardian

‘It’s like a cat and mouse game’: on the frontline of Belgium’s fight against drug smugglers

Sara Van Cotthem takes a safety knife and precisely slices open the side of a cardboard box to unpack its contents, an aluminium stepladder made in China. Working under harsh fluorescent lights at the border inspection post at the port of Antwerp, Van Cotthem checks the paperwork and taps the ladder with a magnet to check if it really is aluminium and not another metal.It is an everyday operation for customs officers at Antwerp, one of Europe’s main commercial gateways, which handled the equivalent of 13.6m 20ft-long (6 metres) containers last year. Everything is in order and the lorry, jam-packed with identical boxed ladders, can get on its way to Germany.But it’s not always so straightforward. Along with routine attempts to evade duties or import counterfeit goods, customs officers are grappling with relentless efforts by violent criminals to smuggle drugs, especially cocaine, into Europe.Sara Van Cotthem at work at the port of Antwerp. Photograph: Judith Jockel/The GuardianVan Cotthem explaining the scanning procedure. Photograph: Judith Jockel/The GuardianAntwerp is one of Europe’s main entry points for cocaine: authorities seized 483 tonnes of the drug between January 2019 and June 2024, the largest amount among 17 ports reporting to the European Union Drugs

1 d ago
Governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state steps down after US drug indictment
drug trafficking/CNN

Governor of Mexico’s Sinaloa state steps down after US drug indictment

Mexico City — The governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa said on Friday he will temporarily step down from his post, days after he was indicted in the US on drug trafficking charges. Ruben Rocha Moya, the governor of Sinaloa since 2021, and nine current or former high-ranking Mexican officials were charged in a five-count indictment unsealed Wednesday with allegedly helping a faction of the cartel led by the Chapitos, the sons of Joaquin Guzman Loera — also known as El Chapo. Local lawmakers approved Rocha Moya’s request to take a leave of absence on Saturday and appointed Yeraldine Bonilla Valverde as interim governor. Until now, Bonilla Valverde served as Sinaloa’s Secretary of Government. Prosecutors in New York allege Rocha Moya met with the Chapitos prior to his election and assured them that if elected, he would put officials friendly to their drug trafficking operations into power. Cartel members stole ballot boxes and kidnapped or intimidated opponents to drop out of the race to ensure his victory, according to the indictment. In a video message released Friday evening, Rocha reiterated his rejection of the charges said that his request to step aside aims to “facilitate the actions of Mexican

2 hr ago