Ship loaded with €220 million cocaine haul halted on way to Spain

SPANISH authorities have held seven drug traffickers who attempted to smuggle almost 4 tonnes of cocaine worth an estimated €220 million into the country.

The bust comes following a tip off from international investigators.

Authorities intercepted a tug boat while it was crossing the Atlantic around 540 miles from the Canary Islands.

The vessel was towed into the Spanish port of Cadiz where police officers arrested the crew.

They found over 160 individual packets of the drug, each weighing around 23kg, stashed away in a watertight compartment under the boat’s kitchen.

The Spanish authorities confirmed they received assistance from the Columbian drug trafficking authorities (DIRAN) throughout the operation.

The incident is the second major international drug bust to take place in the Atlantic in recent weeks, after the Portuguese navy ambushed a yacht believed to be transporting cocaine to Europe from the Caribbean.