Police authorities have seized 2,256 kilograms of cocaine yesterday and detained five Brazilian fishermen in a vessel called Perputuo Socorro de Abaete II, as part of the fight against transnational drug trafficking by sea. It was a joint operation with the Coast Guard and happened on the high seas, but the drug was weighed at dawn in Porto da Praia.
The operation was developed following the exchange of operational information with MAOV – N (Matrix Analysis and Operations Center – Narcotics), headquartered in Lisbon and the Cape Verde police.
According to the online Santiago Magazine, the vessel, which came from South America, was seized around 16.3030pm local tome on the high seas. But during the trip, it was always being monitored by Interpol. The boat was taken to Porto da Praia and subjected to searches that lasted the into dawn.
In all, two tons of cocaine were found and the five crew members on board, all of Brazilian nationality, were arrested. They are between 20 and 40 years old and are fishermen. It is the second largest operation this year in Cape Verde. The first was in January and 10 tons of drugs were seized on a Russian boat.
Eleven crew members were arrested out of a total of 12 who were on the ship. One of these died on board, which forced this vessel, which was destined for Morocco, to divert to Cape Verde.
