Two men were arrested in an operation against drug trafficking off Faro, in which a third suspect died. The detainees were put in protective custody, according to the Judicial Police.
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14/10/2026
by
Lusa
Otwo men arrested in an operation against drug trafficking off Faro, in which a third suspect died, were in protective custody, today told Lusa source of the Judicial Police (PJ).
On Sunday, PJ seized 3,700 kilograms of cocaine in a joint operation called “Mare Nostrum”, with the Portuguese Navy, the Maritime Police and the Guardia di Finanza of Italy, announced on Monday the police force.
The drug was found in a high-speed vessel (EAV), “detected and approached at about 80 nautical miles” (about 150 kilometres) “to the south of Faro after a chase”, after the crew did not comply with a stop order.
Inside the vessel followed three foreign citizens, and “a number of objects used in the process of navigating and transporting cocaine were also seized”.
“ One of the suspects, unfortunately, died, the result of serious injuries he suffered at the time of the approach”, lamented on Monday the director of the National Drug Trafficking Unit (UNCTE) of PJ, in a press conference at the headquarters of the institution in Lisbon.
According to the same source, cocaine came from Latin America and “most likely” was destined for Portugal.
The investigation took place within the framework of the Center for Maritime Analysis and Operations – Narcotics (MAOC-N), with the collaboration of the Portuguese Air Force and the Civil Guard of Spain, in conjunction with the Italian authorities.