GNR seizes over 6.5 tonnes of cocaine in two Portuguese coast operations
Portugal's National Republican Guard (GNR) says it seized more than 6.5 tonnes of cocaine in two coastal operations within 48 hours, one off Figueira da Foz and one off Odemira and Sines. Ten people were detained, and the Polícia Marítima separately announced a hashish seizure on the Alentejo coast.
Two seizures within 48 hours
The GNR carried out two cocaine seizures on the Portuguese coast in the early hours of 7 and 8 October. The first, named Operation Atalaia by GNR spokesman Carlos Canatário, began at about 4am on Wednesday at Praia da Costinha in Figueira da Foz, where agents found a vehicle being loaded with cocaine and two firearms. The person loading it fled and left all the material behind. Agents then intercepted 12 people walking in nearby Tocha, and four men were detained in a house in Quiaios, where 1.8 tonnes of cocaine and two more firearms were found. In total the operation yielded 2.7 tonnes of cocaine and four war weapons, and 20 foreigners aged 20 to 44 were identified, with seven people detained.
- GNR finds a vehicle being loaded with cocaine at Praia da Costinha, Figueira da Foz, and the suspects flee
- Four men are detained in a house in Quiaios with 1.8 tonnes of cocaine
- GNR intercepts a fishing boat near the Mira river mouth and detains three men, with 131 bales seized in total
- Polícia Marítima announces the seizure of about 464 kg of presumed hashish in 10 bales
Odemira and Sines
The second operation took place early on Thursday off Odemira and Sines. According to the GNR's Unidade de Controlo Costeiro e de Fronteiras (UCCF), the SIVICC surveillance system detected high-speed craft, and two of them transferred bales to a fishing boat near the mouth of the Mira river. Three men aged 22 to 42, of Portuguese and foreign nationality, were detained on the fishing boat, which held 73 bales of cocaine. On the return to shore, officers found a recreational boat adrift carrying 58 more bales. In total the GNR seized two vessels, 131 bales of cocaine with an estimated weight of 3,915 kg, four mobile phones and 1,240 euros in cash.
- Atalaia, Figueira da Foz (7 Oct)
- 2.7 tonnes
- Odemira and Sines (8 Oct)
- 3.915 tonnes
Official account
The GNR presented the two operations together as one effort against maritime trafficking. Its statement on the Odemira and Sines operation said the following.
Taken together, these two operations saw the GNR seize more than 6.5 tonnes of cocaine in less than 48 hours, evidencing the Guard's permanent commitment to surveillance and control of the Portuguese coast and to combating international drug trafficking by sea.
The Odemira and Sines operation was carried out in Odemira, Beja district, and Sines, Setúbal district, with support from the Setúbal territorial command, the Polícia Marítima and the Sines municipal council. Canatário called the Costinha operation of particular importance, given the quantity of cocaine, the people detained and the criminal nature of the group. Across both operations, the GNR counted 10 people detained.
Hashish seizure on the Alentejo coast
Separately, the Polícia Marítima announced on Friday, 9 October, that it had seized about 464 kg of presumed hashish in 10 bales along the coast between Cabo Espichel in Sesimbra and Sines, in the Setúbal district. The force said the drugs were seized in recent days during patrol and surveillance work on the Alentejo coast. The 10 bales were handed to the Polícia Judiciária on Thursday. The Polícia Marítima said it had reinforced and extended its patrol system in the area by sea and land.
