Joint navy, maritime police and air force operations to combat drug trafficking at sea off the Algarve have already led to the arrest or identification of 81 people this year, as well as the seizure of 33 speedboats and some 33 tons of hashish. Each ship costs an average of 500 thousand euros: thus, the “gap” in the smugglers’ networks has already reached an amount close to 16.5 million euros.
A gram of hashish sells for an average of 4 euros, bringing the amount of drugs seized during these operations to 132 million euros.
On Friday morning, another boat was caught 93 km from the coast, on board which were two Moroccans and a Frenchman aged between 27 and 53 years. He was being tailed by an Air Force plane and approached by Marines and NCIS officers. There were 89 fuel cans on board.