Europol Targets Atlantic ‘Cocaine Highway’

European law enforcement agencies say they have disrupted a major drug trafficking route across the Atlantic known as the “Cocaine Highway,” seizing 11 tonnes of cocaine and 8.5 tonnes of hashish during a large-scale maritime operation between the Canary Islands and the Azores.

The two-week operation was led by Spain’s Guardia Civil with coordination from Europol. Authorities arrested 54 people and intercepted eight vessels suspected of being involved in offshore narcotics trafficking operations designed to avoid major European ports and evade detection. The crackdown highlights Europe’s growing efforts to combat increasingly advanced maritime smuggling networks that are now operating farther out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Earlier this year, Europol warned that cocaine trafficking groups were moving away from traditional port-based smuggling methods and instead using offshore transfer operations involving multiple vessels, mid-ocean exchanges, and remote coastal drop-off points. According to investigators, the system typically starts with large “mother ships” departing Latin America carrying multi-tonne cocaine shipments. The drugs are then transferred at sea to high-speed vessels, including rigid-hulled inflatable boats and other long-range craft, before eventually being moved onto smaller boats for delivery to isolated beaches and marinas in Spain and Portugal.

Authorities say the waters between the Canary Islands and the Azores have become a major trafficking corridor because of their remote location and the difficulty of monitoring maritime activity across such a large area. Europol said investigators commonly refer to the route as the “Cocaine Highway.”

“Our work proves that when law enforcement acts together, even the Atlantic is not big enough for organised crime to hide,” said Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, Europol’s Deputy Executive Director Operations.

The latest operation follows several major maritime drug investigations carried out by Spanish authorities over the past year. In January, Spain announced the dismantling of what it described as the largest cocaine trafficking organization operating in the Atlantic during Operation Black Shadow. That investigation resulted in 105 arrests and the seizure of more than 10.4 tonnes of cocaine.

Authorities said the Black Shadow network relied on high-speed “narcolanchas” capable of traveling at more than 40 knots, operating from launch points along Spain’s southern coast and the Canary Islands. Investigators said traffickers used encrypted communications, offshore refueling systems, satellite technology, and floating supply platforms that allowed crews to remain at sea for extended periods while conducting repeated rendezvous operations with mother ships offshore. The network was estimated to have smuggled around 57 tonnes of cocaine into Europe in a single year.

The latest Atlantic operation involved agencies from Spain, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the UK National Crime Agency, Portugal’s Polícia Judiciária, Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, the Spanish Navy, and Spain’s tax authority.

Europol said intelligence gathered during the operation is now being examined to identify additional criminal groups connected to the route, warning that further arrests and seizures are likely as investigations continue.

The operation was carried out under EMPACT, the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats, which coordinates EU efforts against organized international crime.