Fugitives of luxury motorboat with half a ton of cocaine arrested in Ibiza

The Guardia Civil, with the collaboration of the Local Police of Santa Eulària des Riu, has arrested two Spanish men, 38 and 30 years old, for their alleged involvement in the spectacular cache of 523 kilos of cocaine found last October 11 in a luxury boat stranded in Playa d’en Bossa. With these arrests, the armed forces have concluded an investigation that kept the island in suspense for three weeks.

• Film chase of a €200,000 speedboat in Ibiza: between investigation and drug trafficking versions

From the maritime chase to the first clues

The operation began on the morning of October 11, when a land patrol detected a boat sailing erratically and at high speed near the coast. When intercepted by a Maritime Service patrol boat, the occupants attempted to ram the agents before running the vessel aground on the beach and fleeing on foot through the rocky area of Torre des Carregador.

Neighbors of Es Porroig recorded the scene, and the videos – in which four people were seen running as the patrol boat approached – went viral on social networks, even before the authorities confirmed the intervention. Hours later, the agents located 21 bales of cocaine, with a total weight of 521 kilos, hidden inside the boat, an NUVA 11 model measuring 11.20 meters in length and equipped with two 300-horsepower Mercury engines.

• Half a ton of cocaine in Ibiza, a rented luxury motorboat and a spectacular getaway

A luxury motorboat rented in Santa Eulària

The boat belonged to a nautical rental company based in Santa Eulària des Riu, which offered the model for about 2,000 euros per day. The company was under investigation, as the boat had been delivered without a skipper, something unusual in its usual operations. For several days, the boat remained stranded on the coast while the surveys were being carried out, and was removed four days later with specialized machinery.

Arrested: one intercepted, one turns himself in

The Guardia Civil obtained new information on the identity of the alleged employer, which allowed the issuance of a requisition. The first detainee, 38 years old, was arrested on October 28 during a routine check by the Local Police of Santa Eulària, who confirmed that he was the wanted suspect and handed him over to the Guardia Civil. The second suspect, aged 30, surrendered voluntarily on November 5 at the premises of the Guardia Civil in Ibiza, assisted by his lawyer.

With both arrests, the Guardia Civil considers the case solved and has thanked the public for their collaboration and coordination with the Local Police, which have been key to close an operation that began with a “movie-like” escape and has concluded with the alleged perpetrators being brought to justice.

Continue reading:

• Four days later, the luxury motorboat involved in the discovery of half a ton of cocaine is removed in Es Porroig

• Ibiza yachting company in the spotlight for renting luxury boat with more than 500 kilos of cocaine

• Criminal organization that smuggled drugs into the Balearic Islands through Ibiza’s waters is busted