The case occurred in November but was kept under judicial
secrecy until an investigation was completed, it said.
In an apparent falling-out among the boat's crew, a Serbian
national seized control of the vessel Sea Paradise, shot one of
the other smugglers, threw his body overboard and took the eight
other crew members hostage, a ministry statement said.
Tipped off about a shipment of some 2.3 tonnes of cocaine from
Latin America to be transferred to a smaller boat near the
Canary Islands, Spanish police launched an operation to seize
the drug during which they discovered the hostage situation.
A police team reached the Sea Paradise at an undisclosed
location in the Atlantic and negotiated for hours with the
hostage taker, who ended up surrendering his weapon and freeing
the crew, "who feared for their lives", the statement said.
All those on board were then taken into custody and the cocaine
haul seized from a hidden compartment onboard.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark
Heinrich)
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