LISBON, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Three people were arrested and 1,400 kg of cocaine seized on a boat south of Faial island, in the Azores archipelago, Portuguese police said on Tuesday.
The drugs were destined for continental Europe, police said.
In a statement, the police said it had launched an operation along in collaboration with the navy and the air force in recent days to combat illicit drug trafficking by sea. This resulted in the interception in the Atlantic Ocean, south of Faial Island, of the pleasure boat that was being used to transport cocaine.
"Three men of foreign nationality were detained on board the vessel," police said. The arrested are believed to be part of a transnational criminal organization in Europe and Latin America, according to police.
The drug seized was being transported from the Caribbean to the European continent to be distributed in different countries.
According to the police, the drug was packed in compartments under the vessel's fuel tanks, which were only located after thorough and intense work of the teams of the Judicial Police, Maritime Police and the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR).
The detainees were a 38-year-old British national, a Dutch and Croatian national.
