290 Kilos of Cocaine Transported on Sailboat from Brazil to Spain- Swedish Citizens Behind it, Says Prosecutor
Stockholm, Sweden – In a shocking revelation, Swedish authorities have disclosed that 290 kilos of cocaine were transported on a sailboat from Brazil to Spain. According to Sara Nilsson, head of the preliminary investigation and senior prosecutor, Swedish citizens are believed to be behind this illegal operation. The details of the case were presented at a press conference.
The investigation has led to the identification of two suspects, aged 69 and 58, who allegedly sailed from Turkey to Brazil to collect the narcotics. They then transported the drugs back to the coast of Spain, where smaller boats picked up the illicit cargo. The “captain,” a 69-year-old man, was arrested in France in November 2022 and has been in custody in Sweden since August.
Furthermore, two individuals, including a 47-year-old defendant, are suspected of acting as principals who directed and financed the operation. One of these individuals, a man from the Stockholm area, is currently detained in absentia and believed to be abroad. Sara Nilsson mentioned that there is information suggesting the person may be in Turkey.
The sailboat’s journey began in July 2020, arriving on the coast of Spain in September of the same year. Authorities have gathered evidence from encrypted communications and information from the ports the boat passed along the way.
In addition to the suspects directly involved in the transportation, three more individuals have been charged with aiding and abetting a particularly serious drug crime. Two of them, a 33-year-old and a 24-year-old, were initially charged in September alongside three others for particularly serious drug crimes committed in Sweden. The prosecution describes this part of the operation as a wholesale operation for drug sales to other criminal networks. The defendants are men aged between 23 and 33 from the Stockholm area. The 33-year-old, who is charged in both parts of the case, is considered a leading figure in Swedish crime but subordinate in the international network.
Sofie Holmqvist, deputy head of investigative operations at the police’s national operational department, emphasized that the individuals charged have extensive connections to organized crime that go beyond drug dealing. She mentioned an exchange office in Stockholm that is believed to have changed hundreds of millions for criminal networks. In a separate case last year, ten people were sentenced to prison in connection with that exchange office.
Holmqvist added that Swedish authorities have worked on dismantling various branches of Swedish organized crime in multiple countries, including collaborating intensively with colleagues in Spain, Brazil, Serbia, and France. As an example, Spanish police have recently arrested over 100 individuals suspected of crimes linked to Swedish criminal networks.
The investigation into this cocaine smuggling operation is ongoing, and authorities continue to gather evidence and build their case against the suspects.