This is the second largest seizure of the drug at sea, carried out in an action by the Brazilian Navy with the Federal Police
More than two tons of hashish, according to estimates by the Federal Police (PF), were seized on Friday afternoon (10), 196 nautical miles (363 kilometers) off the coast, off the city of Salvador (BA), in an interagency operation carried out by the Brazilian Navy (MB) and PF. The sailboat “KIEL”, which was carrying the narcotics, was interdicted and seized by the patrol ship “Guaratuba”, with the help of Marines and PF agents on board.
This is the second largest seizure of hashish at sea in Brazil. In 2021, the Ocean Patrol Ship “Araguari” seized 4.3 tons of the drug, also about 360 km from the coast, off Recife (PE), a record in the country. On that occasion, the MB and PF, in coordination with foreign authorities, intercepted a sailboat loaded with the drug, which is produced from the marijuana plant, during the night.
The operation, at the time, was carried out through an exchange of information between international agencies, the PF and the MB, with the identification that the sailboat had left the European continent loaded with hashish, which is a reverse route to that normally used for trafficking other drugs such as cocaine.
Other recent seizures
In September of this year, another interagency action between MB and PF resulted in the seizure of 3.6 tons of cocaine off the coast of the state of Pernambuco. This was the largest seizure of this narcotic in Brazilian waters. The action represented a joint effort by the security and inspection forces to combat cross-border and environmental crimes.
During the operation, a 500-ton MB patrol ship, which was carrying PF agents, boarded the vessel “PALMARES 1”. At the time of the boarding, there were five crew members on the vessel, which was bound for Africa. The seizure took place 18 nautical miles from Recife (PE), which is equivalent to approximately 33 kilometers.
In the same month, Navy personnel seized around 1.3 tons of skank and 90.78 kg of cocaine base paste from a regional vessel on the Solimões River, near the city of Fonte Boa (AM). The drugs were discovered when an MB ship was carrying out Naval Patrol and Inspection actions. Two suspects were arrested and handed over to the Civil Police.
The drugs had allegedly been passed on to the suspects by another Colombian-flagged vessel, “RR-Lobo”, which had left the city of Leticia, Colombia, near Tabatinga (AM). The destination was the Colombian town of La Pedrera, on the Japurá River, above the town of Vila Bittencourt (near the Brazil-Colombia border).
Source: Agência Marinha de Notícias