The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) on Monday released images from Operation ‘Albus’, which led to the location of a recreational vessel in open waters carrying approximately 263 kilograms of cocaine and the arrest of two individuals.
The 14-meter vessel was intercepted at sea by the Air Force and Navy and was brought to the port of Ponta Delgada in the Azores, arriving this morning. It had been traversing the Atlantic Ocean from Latin America to Europe, as explained by the PJ in a statement.
During the search of the vessel, two crew members, a man and a woman aged 58 and 66 respectively, were arrested in flagrante delicto.
A source connected to the case informed the Lusa news agency that the two crew members are of German nationality.
Images of the international drug trafficking operation shared by the PJ can be seen in the gallery above.
The operation was carried out by the PJ’s National Anti-Drug Trafficking Unit and was launched under an investigation led by the Lisbon DIAP, with support from Germany’s Bundeskriminalamt, the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration, France’s Direction Nationale du Renseignement et des Enquêtes Douanières, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics based in Lisbon.
Upon completion of the investigation procedures, the detainees will be brought before the judicial authorities for a preliminary hearing and the application of coercive measures.
The vessel was crossing the Atlantic Ocean between Latin America and Europe. Two foreign crew members, a man and a woman aged 58 and 66, were arrested.
Carmen Guilherme | 17:44 – 11/08/2025
