U.S. Law Enforcement Abroad

Spanish National Police say they carried out their largest‑ever cocaine seizure at sea after boarding a Cameroon‑flagged container ship in the Atlantic last week and finding 9,994 kilograms (about 22,033 pounds) of cocaine hidden in a shipment of salt. The Europe‑bound vessel, which had departed Brazil, was intercepted and later towed to Spain’s Canary Islands after it ran out of fuel, with officers arresting all 13 crew members and seizing a firearm allegedly used to guard the load. Branded "Operation White Tide," the raid involved cooperation from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as well as Brazilian, British, French and Portuguese authorities, underscoring the scale of the transatlantic trafficking network. Spanish officials say the bust, documented in a four‑minute boarding video, is a decisive blow against maritime cocaine smuggling routes that have increasingly used Spain as a gateway into Europe. The case comes after several other multi‑ton Atlantic seizures off the Canary Islands and at the port of Algeciras, highlighting how South American cocaine flows are adapting even as Western law enforcement steps up joint interdiction campaigns.