Spain destroys record 30‑ton cocaine haul seized from West Africa smuggling route

In June, Spanish authorities seized and incinerated about 30 tonnes of cocaine, the largest single drug seizure ever recorded worldwide. The narcotics, originally aboard the cargo ship Arconian, were intercepted after the vessel had docked in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where the shipment was transferred to small speedboats that brought it to Andalusian beaches.

The drugs were destroyed in a two‑day, two‑night operation that consumed over €800 million worth of cocaine. The case highlights a growing West African route for cocaine smuggling, with Sierra Leone and Guinea‑Bissau serving as new transshipment hubs as traffickers avoid tighter Atlantic monitoring. Experts such as Lucia Bird of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime warn that Europe, and Spain in particular, may become an even more important market for drug cartels.

Spain has already destroyed more than 300 tonnes of narcotics this year, underscoring its role as a central entry point for cocaine into Europe.