Joint Gdf and Spanish authorities operation: 11 tonnes of cocaine and 8 tonnes of hashish seized
Key points
The operation was pioneering but the results were satisfactory with 11 tonnes of cocaine seized, 8.5 tonnes of hashish, 21 kilograms of Marijuana, 18 boats, 2 vehicles and over 30,000 litres of fuel, and 54 people ending up in handcuffs. This is the balance of the pioneering international operation carried out in the Atlantic Ocean, called Alfa-Lima, in which the Italian Guardia di Finanza participated under the coordination of the Guardia Civil. The international operation, which ran from 13 to April 2026, dealt what is defined as a deep blow to the so-called Cocaine Highway, the eastern Atlantic corridor used by criminal organisations to evade controls in major European ports.
Two-week operation
During the two-week operation, daily operations were carried out in the heart of the Ocean, in the Canary Islands, on the Guadalquivir River, in the ports of Ceuta and Algeciras, and in the provinces of Huelva, Cadiz, Malaga, Jaén, Almeria and Murcia.
On the intelligence side, the Portuguese Judicial Police, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the US Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection, the UK National Crime Agency, the Terrorism and Organised Crime Intelligence Centre and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre Narcotics - MAOC
The work of the Finance Operations Command
The work carried out by the military of the Guardia di finanza's Air Operations Command, stationed at Pratica di Mare, was decisive. They contributed with an ATR72 aircraft and a crew of 10 military personnel including pilots, system operators and maintenance staff, to provide useful elements for the operation.
4.2 tonnes of cocaine seized
On the first day, as reconstructed by the Fiamme Gialle, 'thanks to information from the Corps' aircraft obtained through the sensors installed on board and the resulting sightings, a Guardia Civil naval unit intercepted a high-speed vessel heading for the Canary Islands, leading to the arrest of the three crew members and the seizure of 140 packages containing approximately 4.2 tonnes of cocaine'.
