Semi-submersible intercepted on the high seas with 300 bales of cocaine
Criminals are now betting more on cocaine than on hashish due to the drug’s greater profitability. The cartels are also more organized and use high technology such as drones and signal jammers or weapons of war to enter the Algarve.
The Algarve is gaining prominence on international cocaine trafficking routes, mainly among criminal organizations linked to South American cartels. In the first two months of the year, two mega operations of the Judicial Police (PJ), carried out with the support of the Spanish authorities, made it possible to dismantle large networks that used the Algarve coast as an entry or passage point for drugs destined for Europe.
According to the note, the methods used by cartels are increasingly sophisticated, including weapons of war and high technology. There is also a growing focus on cocaine as it is more profitable than hashish. In hashish trafficking, it was common to use fishermen and local residents to unload the drug, but cocaine networks now arrive with full teams, responsible for all the logistics and security of the operations.
Recent numbers illustrate this change. Only this year were they seized 1.9 tons of cocaine in the Algarve, a significant contrast to the five kilos confiscated throughout 2025.
Investigations also indicate a growing militarization of these networks. In recent operations, weapons of war seizedsuch as Uzi and AK-47 machine guns and Glock pistols. Although there is no record of direct confrontations with the authorities, “there has already been an exchange of gunfire in what we suspect to be cases of attempted drug theft”, says Antonio Ventinhas, director of the Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP) in Faro.
In addition to weapons, cartels use advanced technology to avoid police action. Among the equipment found are drones with night vision, ballistic vests and helmetssignal blockers (“jammers”) and Starlink satellite communication systems, which make telephone tapping difficult. Researchers also discovered secret electronic compartments in vehicles and scout systems that go ahead of transport convoys to detect police operations.
According to authorities, this combination of greater profitability, professional organization and sophisticated technology is transforming the Algarve into an increasingly important strategic point in international cocaine trafficking.
