Brazilian authorities have seized approximately 33 kg of cocaine concealed in a submerged compartment of a merchant vessel docked at the Port of Santos, highlighting the continuing use of commercial shipping routes by international drug trafficking networks.
The operation was carried out on 27 October by Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) in cooperation with the Brazilian Navy. Divers from the Federal Police and the Navy’s Southern-Southeastern Naval Patrol Group discovered the narcotics during an underwater inspection of the vessel, which local media identified as the Omicron Atlas.
According to authorities, the cocaine was hidden inside a compartment below the vessel’s waterline. Divers retrieved a package containing multiple tablets of the substance, which was subsequently transferred to the Federal Police headquarters in Santos for forensic examination. Laboratory testing confirmed that the seized material was cocaine.
The operation also received support from the local Port Authority.
Information released by the Brazilian Navy indicates that the vessel had arrived from India and was destined for Singapore. However, investigators have not yet determined where the narcotics were loaded onto the ship or the intended destination of the consignment.
The Federal Police has launched an investigation to establish how the drugs were concealed aboard the vessel, identify those responsible, and determine whether organised criminal groups involved in international narcotics trafficking were linked to the shipment.
The seizure forms part of ongoing efforts by Brazilian law enforcement and maritime authorities to counter the growing use of commercial shipping vessels by transnational criminal organisations seeking to move illicit drugs between continents.
The Port of Santos, Latin America’s largest port, has long been a focus of counter-narcotics operations due to its importance as a gateway for international trade and its attractiveness to trafficking networks attempting to move cocaine to overseas markets.