More than 40 suspects have been arrested in a massive international police operation targeting a drug gang accused of smuggling cocaine into Europe using high-speed “narco-boats.”

The operation — codenamed Black Shadow — involved coordination between global law enforcement agencies and led to the seizure of nearly 3,800 kilos of cocaine, 69 vehicles, and €100,000 in cash, according to Europol.

Spain’s Policía Nacional said the gang used “mother ships” to transport cocaine from South America to the Canary Islands, before transferring the cargo to 11 fast boats that ferried the drugs to shore.

In a striking tactic, traffickers turned an abandoned shipwreck into a refueling platform for the speedboats.

A British national was among the 48 arrested, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed. Authorities said the group used encrypted communications, satellite terminals, and coded language to evade detection.

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