Bangladesh, May 8 -- Spanish authorities have carried out what officials are calling one of the largest anti-drug operations in European history after intercepting a freighter carrying more than 30 tons of cocaine in international waters off the coast of West Africa. The operation, coordinated with US and Dutch intelligence services, exposed a sophisticated transnational trafficking network that stretched from West Africa to Europe and involved armed guards, speedboat transfers, and international shipping routes linked to some of the worlds most active cocaine corridors.

According to a Spanish court document obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the operation unfolded on May 1 when Spains Civil Guard i...