Spanish authorities discovered 127 kilos of cocaine aboard Spanish Navy’s training vessel Juan Sebastián de Elcano on August 2.
The investigation revealed that three officers were recruited to use the vessel to illegally transport cocaine from Cartagena de Indias across the ocean to New York.
After the vessel arrived in Spain last month, the three sailors were arrests and may receive a prison sentence of up to six years. According to Maritime Security Review, the drugs were found hidden in the ship’s reserve sails during a search carried out in Cádiz, Spain.
Juan Sebastián de Elcano, the third-largest Tall Ship in the world, had completed a six-month cruise that covered 18,000 nautical miles before the drugs were found aboard the vessel.