Spain's Guardia Civil police force recently intercepted a rigid inflatable boat that was later found to be carrying cocaine totalling more than three tonnes just south of the Canary Islands.
The suspect vessel was detected and interdicted off Gran Canaria. Although the RIB attempted to escape by manoeuvring evasively, it was eventually seized and boarded by Guardia Civil officers.
The cocaine was found in 139 packages that weighed a total of 3,360 kg.
The boat's five occupants were placed under arrest after police discovered that they were armed with a light machine gun and an assault rifle, both of unknown calibre.
The operation is the latest in a series of interdictions of drug-carrying vessels by Spanish authorities off the Canary Islands.
Local officials said the islands have become part of an extensive "cocaine highway" that criminal groups in Latin America have been exploiting to distribute narcotics throughout Europe.
RIBs equipped with multiple high-powered engines have become the preferred vessels of traffickers operating in the region due to their speed.
The small craft are used primarily to retrieve bales of narcotics that have been dumped by larger ships far from shore.