Record 40 Tons of Cocaine Seized from Ship by Spanish Police

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The Spanish police announced the seizure of what is believed to be the largest seized shipment of cocaine in history. On Friday May 1, Spanish Civil Guard took control of a ship loaded with huge quantities of drugs off the coast of the Canary Islands.

According to sources from the main Civil Guard Union (AUGC), reported by Agence France-Presse, the quantity seized is estimated to be between 35 and 45 tons of cocaine, as the ship’s holds were “completely full” of drug packages, making it a “historic operation.”

Currently, thorough inspections of the ship are being conducted, which docked in the Canary ports after departing from Freetown, Sierra Leone, heading towards Benghazi, Libya.

The merchant ship Arconian, flying the flag of Comoros, arrived at the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria escorted by the Civil Guard.

The vessel had departed on April 22 from Sierra Leone and was intercepted by the patrol boat Duque Ahumada in waters near the Western Sahara off the coast of Africa.

"Today history is being written in the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard," it wrote. "Intercepted in international waters the largest known seizure: between 30,000 and 45,000 kg of cocaine on board a freighter."

Previously the ship sailed under the name Astro.

The sources clarified that the Civil Guard intercepted the ship in international waters off the Spanish Canary Islands on Friday, and 23 people on board were arrested.

Around 1,500 bales filled the ship's hull and initial estimates state that the shipment seized might exceed 40 tons of cocaine.

17 Filipinos detained were responsible for the operations of the Arconian. Six Congolese acted as armed guards on the ship to prevent theft by pirates. Extra fuel was also seized on the Arconian that would have refueled go-fast boats

Drug trafficker "Bolle Jos," is believed to be hiding in Sierra Leone.

Netherlands Bound

Rumors have circulated that the shipment is connected to Dutch trafficker Jos Leijdekkers also known as "Chubby Jos" primarily due to the Sierra Leone point of transit.

Despite having received a total of 57 years in prison in absentia across Belgium and the Netherlands, Leijdekkers is thought to be in Sierra Leone. News reports in Freetown say he took over Sierra Leone’s existing cocaine smuggling network. Previously he had been based in Turkey and Dubai.

Jos Leijdekkers was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison on June 25, 2024, for six drug transports totaling almost 7,000 kilos of cocaine, an armed robbery in Finland, and ordering a murder.

In 2025, a Dutch court confiscated €112 million in ill-gotten gains from Jos, thought to be hiding out in Sierra Leone. Initially, the court sought to seize €250 million in assets, a record for the court.

Prosecutors said during the case that Leijdekkers had made €114 million from 14 cocaine shipments in less than a year. According to intercepted Sky-ECC messages, Jos also spent €47 million on 975 kilograms of gold in less than six months.

Leijdekkers is also believed to be involved in the disappearance and death of Naima Jillal after she went missing in October 2019.

Photos of a woman believed to be Naima Jallal were found on a phone seized in the Marengo investigation showing that she was most likely tortured and is likely dead. Her body has never been found.

A January 2025 video post by the First Lady of Sierra Leone appears to show Jos attending a church service with the nation’s President Julius Bio. It is also believed he is in a relationship with the President's daughter.

Sources Niporwifi, CBS News, Europol, CBS News, RTVC