Spanish Sailors Turned Drug Dealers Busted with 127 Kilos of Cocaine Aboard Tall Ship

Spain’s police, La Guardia Civil, seized 127 kilos of cocaine onboard the Spanish Navy training ship Juan Sebastian Elcano while at port in Cadiz over the weekend.  The drugs were discovered on Saturday in Cadiz in an international investigation also involving US Homeland Security.

According to the Guardia Civil, the sailors involved were contacted by drug traffickers during a port visit in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.  The drugs were hidden in the clothes of sailors returning to the ship and then hidden among personal effects of the crew.

The operation began several months ago, following the arrest of two Colombians in New York where approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine was seized by US authorities, who alerted Spanish police.

The ongoing US-Spanish investigation resulted in the arrest of three sailors last month for allegedly selling cocaine while on a port call in New York. On Saturday, Guardia Civil personnel discovered the 127 kilos of cocaine hidden in hard to access spaces, which included reserve sails for the vessel.

The Juan Sebastian Elcano is a four-masted topsail, steel-hulled schooner.  She is the third largest tall ship in the world measuring 370 feet in length and recently completed a six-month tour.

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