8,600 kg of hashish seized from two boats south of Portugal; eight held
Portuguese marines from the patrol vessel NRP Drago intercepted two high-powered boats in international waters about 70 nautical miles south of mainland Portugal, seizing around 8,600 kg of hashish. Eight men aged 34 to 40 were arrested and the boats were taken to Faro for investigation by the Judiciary Police.
🇵🇹 international waters about 70 nautical miles south of mainland Portugal
Portuguese marines operating from the patrol vessel NRP Drago intercepted two
high-powered semi-rigid boats in international waters about 70 nautical miles
(130 km) south of mainland Portugal.[1][2]An Air Force maritime patrol had
tracked the boats’ suspicious movements before the Navy closed in and boarded
them.[1][2]The operation seized around 8,600 kg of hashish and led to the
arrest of eight men aged between 34 and 40.[1][2]
The seized boats were escorted to the port of Faro, the nearest port, so the
investigation could continue on land.[1]The detainees were to be presented
to the judicial authority, and the Judiciary Police kept the investigation.[1]The joint operation brought together the Navy, the Air Force, the
Maritime Authority and the Judiciary Police; a second boat was stopped about
80 nautical miles off the coast.[1][2]
Photos and video
Hashish bales on an intercepted boat with the Portuguese patrol vessel NRP Drago (P1151) behindPhoto details
Judicial police arrested a 38-year-old man in the municipality of Olhão after finding about 100 bales of hashish, roughly 4.5 tonnes, hidden in a stolen goods van on a rural property. Police suspect the drug reached the site by sea through the channels of the Ria Formosa, and the man was due before a judge to decide preventive measures.
Four foreign nationals aged 16 to 43 were arrested at Porto das Barcas, São Teotónio, after police intercepted about 1.1 tonnes of hashish pollen moved by fast boat. The joint PJ-GNR Operation Barcas also seized a car with false plates, surveillance cameras and communications gear in house searches.
On 26 October 2026 the Northern Directorate of the Polícia Judiciária arrested a 38-year-old man with no record at a warehouse in Vila Nova de Famalicão and seized about 100 kg of hashish, a large-calibre pistol, a ballistic vest and 16,000 euros. The case began with two postal parcels of cannabis resin from northern Europe.
Portugal's PSP detained seven people and seized 5.8 tonnes of hashish, nine firearms, 580,000 euros in cash and eight boats in an operation around greater Lisbon. A Lisbon court ordered all seven held in preventive detention on 20 October 2025.
