International operation disrupts "cocaine highway" across the Atlantic

World International operation disrupts "cocaine highway" across the Atlantic Ocean By Emily Mae Czachor Emily Mae Czachor News Editor Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek. Read Full Bio Emily Mae Czachor May 10, 2026 / 1:06 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google A weekslong operation to thwart drug trafficking routes from Latin America to Europe has successfully disrupted what authorities called "a major cocaine highway" in the Atlantic Ocean.Over 12 tons of cocaine and about 9.5 metric tons of hashish were seized over the course of the operation, which lasted from April 13 to April 26, said Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency. Eight vessels were intercepted and 54 people were arrested overall.The mission involved international law enforcement bureaus and was coordinated by Europol. The agency said it aimed to specifically target drug trafficking networks moving cocaine from parts of Latin America to Europe through "complex at-sea transfers," conceived to evade detection by avoiding major ports.In order to locate the boats carrying out these covert transfers at sea, law enforcement agents were deployed to various sites across the Atlantic, focusing on an area between Spain's Canary Islands and Portugal's Azores. They were tasked with detecting, tracking and intercepting vessels suspected of drug trafficking during the two-week operation, according to Europol. After the agency warned earlier this year that trafficking networks were changing how they moved cocaine across the Atlantic, it said the results of its latest mission essentially reinforced what it already beleived to be true."The recent operation demonstrates the patterns Europol had identified earlier this year: criminal networks are increasingly moving cocaine offshore to reduc...