OVIEDO, Spain

Spain seized 7 tonnes (7.7 US tons) of cocaine, police said on Monday, in what they call the largest haul of its kind to date.

While larger amounts of the drug have been seized, this is the largest haul to have been smuggled into southern Spain using speed boats, locally known as “narco-lanchas.”

Police said the operation unfolded in the early hours of Dec. 27, when police detected two suspicious high-speed boats near the mouth of the Guadalquivir River.

Using aerial, maritime, and ground surveillance, authorities tracked the boats as they unloaded large quantities of cargo. The packages were then transported to a guarded rural property in the Seville province.

During a subsequent raid on the property, police discovered two underground storage containers designed to conceal and protect illicit cargo.

In addition to the seven tonnes of cocaine, officers seized three firearms, including an AK-47 assault rifle, as well as two stolen vehicles.

Three individuals were arrested, though the investigation remains active.

Police say this operation was a significant blow to the drug trafficking networks operating along the Guadalquivir River, which remains a key entry point for narcotics into Europe.

The bust also comes just weeks after another historic haul.

In November, Spanish authorities announced the largest cocaine haul in the nation’s history, an unprecedented 13 tonnes (14.3 US tons) smuggled in a banana shipment from Ecuador.

Prior to that, the biggest seizures were 9.4 tonnes in 2023 and 8.7 tonnes in 2018.

In 2023, Spain was identified as the primary point of entry for cocaine into Europe based on the volume of drug seizures, according to an analysis by InSight Crime.