Spanish police have executed a major operation against a cocaine smuggling gang linked to South America. Authorities arrested forty-eight suspects and seized almost four tonnes of cocaine in coordinated raids across the Canary Islands, specifically in Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote. The operation, named ‘Operation Black Shadow,’ also involved police forces from various countries, including the United Kingdom, South America, and the United States.

The drug gang reportedly used eleven speedboats to transport cocaine, relying on a complex network that involved an abandoned wreck at sea as a refuelling platform. Investigators noted that the criminals employed encrypted communication systems, using satellite terminals and coded language to avoid detection from law enforcement.

Spanish police highlighted the sophisticated operations of international drug trafficking networks, which are increasingly targeting Europe as a market for narcotics. Officers searched twenty-nine properties, seized sixty-nine vehicles, and recovered cash and firearms during the raids, emphasising the scale of the operation.

The National Crime Agency of the UK confirmed that a British national was among those arrested in the crackdown on this large criminal organisation, which had a local distribution network for cocaine within the Canary Islands. Authorities described the raid as a vital step towards dismantling major drug trafficking channels.