Portugal Seizes 1.7 Tonnes of Cocaine from Narco-Sub off Azores

The Atlantic corridor that links South America to the Iberian Peninsula was back in the spotlight this week after Portuguese authorities blocked a clandestine run intended to slip nearly two tonnes of cocaine onto European soil. In a joint strike coordinated through the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N) in Lisbon, a semi-submersible vessel built to skim beneath radar was intercepted hundreds of kilometres west of the Azores. Four crew members are now in preventive custody, and investigators say the takedown confirms that Portugal is both a target and a gatekeeper for the booming trans-Atlantic cocaine trade.

Atlantic drama unfolds

Bad autumn weather did not stop the mid-Atlantic interception, which officers describe as the country's most daring seizure this year. The semi-submersible craft was cornered during Operation El Dorado when a Portuguese Navy frigate deployed marines by fast-rope onto its low deck. Hidden under a sealed cargo hold were bricks of compressed cocaine later weighed at 1.7 tonnes. “The boarding demonstrated the Navy’s growing ability to project force far from the mainland,” Cmdr. Paulo Gouveia, a Navy spokesperson, told reporters in Ponta Delgada.

Anatomy of a ‘narco-sub’

Investigators say the captured boat follows a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) design, a homemade fibreglass hull that presents only a shallow profile on radar. Powered by a single diesel engine, it carries a three-person crew compartment barely above the waterline. Basic periscopes and satellite navigation guide crews on what law-enforcement agencies call a one-way trip: reach a Galician off-loading point, scuttle the vessel and disappear. Intelligence indicates many hulls are being assembled in makeshift Brazilian shipyards before heading northeast toward Iberia.

Inside the international manhunt

Hours before the boarding, analysts inside MAOC-N flagged an anomaly in commercial shipping lanes. Alerts from the UK National Crime Agency, a French customs surveillance aircraft and satellite imagery supplied by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were pooled with tracking data from the Joint Interagency Task Force South. A Portuguese Air Force P-3C Orion shadowed the target under radio silence until the multinational chain of command authorised the strike.

Judicial aftershocks in the Azores

After disembarkation at Ponta Delgada, the four men, described by prosecutors as Ecuadorian, Venezuelan and Colombian nationals, appeared before the local magistrates’ court and were placed in preventive detention. They face charges of trafficking a considerable quantity under Decree-Law 15/93, punishable by five to fifteen years in prison, with additional time possible for conspiracy.

Portugal’s frontline role

Strategists acknowledge that the country’s Atlantic gateway makes it both lucrative for traffickers and vulnerable to exploitation. Vast stretches of lightly monitored coastline sit only a few days’ sail from South America, while MAOC-N headquarters in Lisbon constantly recasts patrol routes. Despite recent successes—this was the second narco-sub seizure in the past 12 months—senior officers concede there are still surveillance gaps and are lobbying for permanent drone patrols. Officials in Lisbon hope the latest bust will strengthen their hand when they ask Brussels for additional maritime security funds.