Latest news with #Cameroon-flagged
Morocco World
3 days ago
- Morocco World
Morocco Contributes to International Operation Seizes 3 Tons of Cocaine off Canary Islands
Rabat — Morocco participated in an international maritime operation that led to the interception of the tugboat 'Sky White' off the Canary Islands, carrying approximately 3 tons of cocaine bound for Europe. The Spanish Civil Guard and Customs Surveillance Service carried out the intervention and arrested 5 people aboard the Cameroon-flagged vessel. The suspects include four from Bangladesh and one from Venezuela. According to a Civil Guard statement, this seizure results from a joint investigation that Moroccan security services and France's National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigations (DNRED) started. Since the summer of 2024, authorities have suspected this ship of large-scale international drug trafficking. Investigations revealed that the Sky White regularly used the port of Dakhla as a strategic point to escape surveillance by European authorities. The report indicated that, from the Moroccan port, the vessel crossed the Atlantic several times each year, returning loaded with cocaine for the European market. Spanish authorities said that the Sky White then acted as a mother ship that delivered drugs to smaller boats in areas near the Canary Islands or the Iberian Peninsula. This case's investigation received support from police services in the United Kingdom (NCA), the United States (DEA), and Portugal (Judicial Police). The Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime Intelligence Center (CITCO) and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N) also coordinated these efforts, the statement added. The operation is part of the fight against international drug trafficking through the 'Atlantic Route,' a major drug trafficking axis linking South America and the Caribbean to Europe. Spanish authorities commend the effectiveness of international cooperation and the central role that Moroccan services played in dismantling this network. Morocco has been playing a major role in combating drug trafficking and international human trafficking. The country has foiled a whopping 92,346 drug-trafficking-related cases, arresting 119,692 individuals, including 287 foreigners. Tags: 3 Tons of cocainedrug traffickingInternational operation
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Yahoo
Taiwan identifies 52 'suspicious' Chinese ships for close monitoring
Taiwan has identified 52 "suspicious" Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience that require close monitoring if detected near the island, the coast guard said Monday, as Taipei seeks to protect its subsea telecoms cables. The stricter regime comes after a Cameroon-flagged vessel was briefly detained by Taiwan's coast guard earlier this month on suspicion of damaging an international cable northeast of the island. The vessel was owned by a Hong Kong-registered company with a Chinese address given for its only listed director, the coast guard said previously. Taiwan fears China could sever its communication links as part of an attempt to seize the island or blockade it. Flags of convenience allow shipping companies to register their vessels in countries to which they have no link -- for a fee and freedom from oversight. The coast guard said 52 "suspicious" Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience from Mongolia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Togo, and Sierra Leone had been highlighted for close monitoring based on port records and data from Tokyo MOU, a regional multilateral body for port state control. Of the 52 vessels, 15 were rated a "threat" for various reasons -- including the amount of time they spent loitering or sailing slowly near Taiwan's subsea cables in 2024. Five, considered to pose the greatest threat, had been active in Taiwan's northern, western and southern waters, and had stayed "within Taiwan's territorial waters for more than 15 days", the coast guard said in a statement. Taiwanese authorities will monitor for "anomalies" in a ship's AIS (automatic identification system) operation and "fake or misuse of vessel names". Vessels suspected of "loitering, slow navigation, or anchoring" near subsea cables will be warned by radio to leave the area, the coast guard said. "If the vessel does not comply, coast guard ships will be dispatched to collect evidence and drive the vessel away," it said. "Boarding inspections will be conducted when necessary to safeguard Taiwan's maritime and international communications security." China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. Taiwan has 14 international underwater cables and 10 domestic ones. In February 2023, two telecoms lines serving Taiwan's outlying Matsu archipelago were cut, disrupting communications for weeks. joy/amj/tc/fox
