Man in wetsuit believed to have drowned
The weekend’s news of a major drugs find in Peniche has moved on significantly with the discovery of a dead body floating off the coast, near Praia do Baleal.
The body is “presumed to be that of the pilot” of the ‘narco boat’ (high speed launch) discovered grounded in the area, with 500 kgs of cocaine inside it.
Say reports this morning, the dead man, aged somewhere between 55 and 60, was pulled from the water in a wetsuit, albeit he is presumed to have drowned.
He will have belonged to the international trafficking ring whose further 1.129 tons of cocaine were discovered in a nearby pine forest on Saturday, writes Correio da Manhã.
As yet there appears to be no identification documents discovered, either on the man’s body, or in the boat.
Spanish online ‘narcodiario’ suggests the man was only one of five people involved in this botched mission, and may have been Galician.
Forensic doctors were due yesterday to establish cause of death.
Today, CM is giving the value of the haul at over €51 million.
According to the paper, authorities (maritime police/ PJ) are now attempting to reconstruct the route of the drug boat, in a bid to identify the ring behind it.
Traffickers’ use of the Portuguese west coast has seen authorities increase vigilance over the past few months, resulting in the seizure of more than 22 tons of cocaine just this year.
Up till now, focus has been on the Sines-Cascais stretch of coastline. Last weekend’s events will see this extended further north, says CM.
