4 1/2 tonnes of cocaine found on ship heading to Spain

Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional have seized over 4 1/2 tonnes of cocaine loaded onto a cattle ship in Canarian waters.

28 people – understood to be the crew – have been detained after the Togolese vessel ‘Orion V’ was boarded around 62 miles off the coast of the Canaries.

The ship had stopped at ports in about a dozen countries before Tuesday’s raid, and police said drug smugglers had started using livestock ships because it was more difficult for police to trace their illicit cargo.

Officers unloaded the illegal cargoes when the ship moored at the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

It was the second major drug seizure in Canarian waters in under a week.