Spain has just pulled in what could be its biggest cocaine haul ever. A Civil Guard operation intercepted a ship in international waters off the Canary Islands on Friday and hauled it to port in Las Palmas, where officers found the hold packed with drug bales that could total up to 40 tons, sources in the force’s AUGC union tell AFP, per CBS News. Spain’s interior minister called it one of the largest at-sea seizures not just for the country, but worldwide, while declining to share specifics. Some 23 people, including Filipino, Angolan, and Dutch nationals, were arrested, per Sky News.
The 295-foot ship—registered in the Comoros Islands—had departed Freetown, Sierra Leone, bound for Benghazi, Libya. Union sources say the drugs were likely meant to be broken up at sea and moved onto smaller boats headed for Europe. An investigation is being carried out under secrecy in the Canary Islands; the Civil Guard has not officially confirmed the details. Spain, long a gateway for Latin American cocaine and Moroccan cannabis into Europe, has logged a series of major maritime busts in recent years, including a haul of 10 tons of cocaine in January.