Overview
- Spanish authorities intercepted a cargo ship near the Canary Islands and arrested 23 people in what they call the largest drug seizure to date.
- Dutch media report that five Dutch nationals are among those detained, naming Rotterdam resident Alexander T., 36, who previously received a seven-year sentence for a 2010 shooting.
- Reports say the group guarded roughly 30,000 kilos of cocaine on a vessel that sailed from Sierra Leone, and officers found guards carrying machine guns.
- According to AD reporting relayed by Rijnmond, the discovery followed a Dutch tip from a criminal informant about a ship named Arconian packed with cocaine.
- Investigators are looking into possible links to Dutch crime figure Jos “Bolle Jos” Leijdekkers because of the ship’s origin, a connection prosecutors have not confirmed.