International drug cartels have built a sophisticated network of mid-ocean transhipment points across the Atlantic to funnel multi-ton shipments of narcotics directly into Europe, according to a joint investigation by European and American media published by .
reported that Western authorities face critical shortages of high-speed patrol vessels and aerial surveillance assets to adequately police the vast Atlantic transit zones. Highlighting a tactical escalation, the French military deployed snipers during "Operation Galgo" to shoot out the engines of a suspect drug speedboat in international waters—a move that security analysts suggest signals a growing role for naval militaries in countering international trafficking syndicates.
By Tamilla Hasanova
