فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Rabat – November 22, 2025
The Public Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance in Brest, France, Stéphane Kellenberger, announced the transfer of four individuals, including three Moroccan citizens and one Spanish national, to Spanish judicial authorities on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, after their arrest aboard a “go-fast” speedboat, where 2.4 tons of cocaine valued at over 128 million euros (approximately 150 million US dollars) were seized.
According to the official statement issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brest, which specializes in drug seizures in the Atlantic Ocean, the arrest came in the context of a joint operation between the French Navy and Spanish and Portuguese authorities, in coordination with American and British police. The operation occurred on the night of Friday, October 17 to Saturday, October 18, 2025, off the Portuguese Madeira Islands, located off the Moroccan coast, where the French frigate fired at the boat’s engines to force it to stop after an attempted escape.
The four were placed in “temporary detention” (MRPL) aboard the French frigate, before being transferred to the Spanish port of La Coruña, where they came under Spanish judicial supervision. Kellenberger explained that this transfer was based on “the claimed nationality of one of the crew members, the geographical location of the seized boat, as well as to ensure coherent management of the remaining judicial investigations.”
Operation Details and Seizure
The operation was launched based on a request from the French Anti-Narcotics Office (OFAST), which informed the French Navy of a “speedboat loaded with suspicious bales.” It involved a maritime surveillance aircraft, a naval frigate with its helicopter, and a French Customs coastal patrol aircraft. It resulted in the seizure of 2,373 kilograms of cocaine, with a market value estimated at over 128 million euros, making it one of the largest seizures in the Atlantic Ocean this year.
This incident is part of an intensive campaign against drug trafficking in the region, as the French Navy had previously recorded a seizure of 10 tons in the Gulf of Guinea in March 2024, and 6 tons off the West African coast in September 2025. Investigations indicate that the maritime route off Morocco is used as a main pathway for smuggling cocaine from South America to Europe, highlighting the importance of international cooperation in combating these criminal networks.
