High-Speed ’Narcolanchas’ Fuel Drug Trafficking Surge Across Gibraltar Strait

In Spain, customs officers and police fear the Narcolanchas, which can reach speeds of 100 km/h and carry up to three tons of drugs from Morocco to Spain via the Strait of Gibraltar. "They load the cannabis in Morocco and wait at sea for the right moment to deliver it in Spain. It only takes them 10 minutes to go from one coast to the other. They know our every move and know that we are tinkering. It’s very complicated to find and stop them at this speed," says Riccardo, the head of the Algeciras customs boat, on the TFI Info microphone.

Drug traffickers are aware of their dominant position over the Spanish security forces in the strait. They even dare to publish videos of their exploits on social media to show the inability of Spanish customs officers to get their hands on them. The drug traffickers have set up a well-oiled system. Once introduced into Spain, the drugs from Morocco are distributed throughout Europe in just a few hours.

The cannabis trade generates significant resources for these networks. "Traffickers can earn up to two million euros per crossing" with a Narcolancha that costs around 120,000 euros, details Lisardo Capote, head of customs in Algeciras, specifying that the production of these boats has been banned in Spain since 2018. The drug traffickers have simply circumvented this ban by sourcing from Portugal.

This very lucrative business has allowed drug traffickers to build luxury villas in the town of La Línea de la Concepción, where the unemployment rate is the highest in Spain at 30%. About 3,000 people in this town make a living and support their families through this drug trafficking. Furthermore, drug traffickers have become increasingly violent in recent years. Last January, an ultra-fast boat carrying drugs collided with a Guardia Civil boat, killing two agents.