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Five people have been arrested after being caught transporting nearly three tonnes of cocaine off a fishing boat off the Canary Islands, Spanish police said.

The AKT 1 was stopped on 13 April by the Spanish Coast Guard about 300 nautical miles south of the Spanish archipelago after the crew tried to present it as another fishing vessel.

A shipment of more than 100 kilograms of cocaine has been seized in Greece

Spanish police seized 2.9 tonnes of cocaine, valued at 72 million euros on street prices.

The drugs were hidden in one of the fuel tanks.

The boat was returned to the island of Gran Canaria on Saturday, and the five detainees were detained in custody in Las Palmas.

"When we boarded, (staff) noticed that the fishing boat was carrying a significant number of packages commonly used for cocaine trafficking, so five members of the boat's crew - four Turkish and one Georgian national - were arrested immediately." said a spokesman for the Spanish Civil Guard.

seized cocaine

The Canary Islands