They were stowing away on a cargo ship from Cartagena de Indias, in Colombia, when they threw three bales with 100 kilos of cocaine overboard and chased after them eleven nautical miles from the port of Ceuta.
Now, the two men have been arrested after being intercepted at sea by a patrol of the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard of Algeciras and taken to the port of this town along with the bales of cocaine.
It is the result of a joint operation by the Civil Guard, the National Police and Customs Surveillance, as explained by the Benemérita in a note, where it explained that the agents were aware that a container ship coming from Colombia and transiting the port from Algeciras (Cádiz) could travel with a shipment of cocaine on board.
Once the State security body was aware of the situation, a coordinated surveillance device was launched on the ship in which maritime and land patrols from the Civil Guard, National Police and Customs Surveillance participated, as well as a plane from the Portuguese air force of Operation Indalo, which provided aerial images of it.
When the container ship was eleven miles from the port of Ceuta, the agents observed how two men threw three bales over the stern of the ship and then jumped into the sea. Once the bales were intercepted, it was found that they contained about one hundred kilos of cocaine in total.
The “modus operandi” of the stowaways consists of traveling hidden on the boat and at one point during the journey they throw themselves into the sea along with the drugs to later be rescued by another boat with which they are coordinated.
To do this, they travel dressed in neoprene suits and carry the bundles of drugs attached to life jackets and with beacons to prevent them from sinking and so that they can be located using a GPS signal.