Nearly half a tonne of cocaine seized in sea operation co-led by Frontex

Nearly half a tonne of cocaine, dropped in open water for smaller boats to scoop up before it reached European shores, was seized after 14 countries spent a month targeting drug traffickers at sea in Operation White Sea VI, co-led by Frontex.

From 8 June to 5 July 2026, 454 kg of cocaine was seized and 5 suspects arrested in an international operation run by Belgian Customs and co-led by Frontex and Danish Customs. The action targeted criminal networks that use the sea to move cocaine into Europe.

Operation White Sea VI delivered the following results:

White Sea VI targeted several smuggling methods used at sea:

The operation covered Europe's Atlantic and northern waters. Officers watched the Atlantic coast and the English Channel. They patrolled the North Sea and carried out checks at major seaports.

As co-leader, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, supported the operation on the water and from the air. Frontex vessel trackers followed ships across the area and helped teams focus on the highest-risk targets.

Frontex Standing Corps officers specialised in cross-border crime detection worked alongside Belgian teams on the spot, helping with boardings and inspections, including deck sweeps of suspect vessels.

At the same time, Frontex aircraft carried out surveillance flights over the area. The flights helped spot suspicious movements and guide the teams on the water.

Frontex also hosted the coordination centre at its headquarters in Warsaw. For a week, more than 20 officers from the participating countries and agencies worked side by side there to steer the operation in real time.

The operation confirms a pattern that Europol's analysis has already flagged. Large ships increasingly drop cocaine at sea. Smaller boats then collect it and carry it towards shore. White Sea VI was designed to catch this method early, before the drugs reach European ports.

The operation ran under the Cannabis, Cocaine and Heroin priority of EMPACT, the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats. Frontex will keep working with Member States and partners such as Europol to disrupt drug trafficking at sea. The Agency supports operational actions under EMPACT across the EU's maritime borders.