Ten seafarers detained on vessel with four tons of cocaine

According to Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Turkey, this operation, known as ‘Pascal-Lino 2024,’ took place 130 nautical miles northeast of Lanzarote, leading to the arrest of all ten crew members on board. The ship had raised the authorities’ suspicions due to its unusual activity by not loading or offloading any cargo. Thus, the movements of the vessel, which has been flying the Zanzibar-Tanzania flag since July 19, 2024, were investigated:

• The vessel departed from an anchorage area off Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, on July 28, 2024, made a brief stop in Casablanca, Morocco, on August 9-10, and then transited to Sierra Leone.
• It anchored off Freetown, Sierra Leone, on August 21 and remained there for 20 days until September 11.
• The vessel then moved north on September 11, waiting for port entry permission in the territorial waters of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau from September 13 to 20, and anchored in the port of Bissau for 21 hours on September 21.
• After leaving the port of Bissau on September 22, it indicated Alexandria, Egypt, as its next destination with an estimated arrival time of October 15, 2024.
• It maneuvered at low speed off the coast of Guinea-Bissau on September 23-24, and sailed off the coast of Mauritania on September 26.
• On September 28-29, it significantly reduced its speed while navigating off Mauritania.
• Subsequently, while heading to Alexandria, the vessel was intercepted on October 4, 2024, in the waters northeast of the Canary Islands, leading to the seizure of 4 tons of cocaine.

When analyzing the route, port, and speed information of the vessel, it is concluded that the seized drugs were likely transported by ghost ships (those without AIS signal information) from South American countries, transferred to the vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, specifically off the coast of Guinea or Mauritania, and were intended for shipment to European countries.