Sailboat with 4.3 tonnes of hashish intercepted off Recife
Brazil's Federal Police and Navy intercepted a sailboat coming from Portugal about 230 nautical miles off Recife on 16 June 2021 and seized 4,304 kg of hashish. Two crew members, an Estonian and a Russian, were arrested in what police called Brazil's biggest hashish seizure.
🇧🇷 International waters of the Atlantic, about 230 nautical miles off Recife · Brazil
Brazil’s Federal Police, acting on intelligence shared with French Customs, MAOC-N and the British Virgin Islands authorities, learned that a sailboat coming from Portugal carried a large load of hashish.[1]On the night of Wednesday 16 June 2021, the Navy’s ocean patrol ship Araguari intercepted the vessel in international waters about 230 nautical miles off Recife, with two federal officers aboard making the arrests.[1][2]
The vessel was escorted to Recife, arriving on the morning of Friday 18 June, and the two crew, one Russian and one Estonian, were taken to the Federal Police headquarters in the Bairro do Recife.[1][2]Forensic weighing put the haul at 4,304 kilograms of hashish.[1]The Federal Police called it the biggest hashish seizure ever made in the country and evidence of a transcontinental maritime trafficking route to Brazil; more than 100 officers from both forces took part in the operation.[2][1]
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Navy boats take part in the interception (still from the Federal Police operation video). Photo: Federal Police via G1Photo details
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Source: G1Federal Police boats escort the seized sailboat to RecifePhoto details
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