Spanish customs agents and the National Police said on Friday that they had confiscated the country’s biggest cocaine haul to date of 9.5 tonnes hidden in a banana freight container originating from Ecuador.
The drug was found on Wednesday in the southwestern port of Algeciras in a refrigerated container among a cargo shipment supposed to have held 1,080 boxes of bananas, said José Carlos Arobes, a senior official for the Spanish tax agency that covers customs inspections.
Prior to this seizure, Spain’s biggest cocaine bust was of 8.4 tonnes in 2018, also found in a supposed banana container in Algeciras.
The tax agency said the investigations began in July when police received information about a pending shipment of Colombian cocaine via Ecuador in August. The organisation behind the shipment operated through a banana exporting company in Machala, Ecuador, the agency said.
The cargo was due to be delivered in Portugal for later distribution throughout Europe. No arrests have been made so far.
🚩Histórica operación antidroga en el Puerto de #Algeciras
— Policía Nacional (@policia) August 25, 2023
🔵El mayor alijo de #cocaína intervenido nunca en España
🔵9,5 toneladas ocultas en cajas de bananas dentro de un contenedor marítimo procedente de #Ecuador #SomosTuPolicía pic.twitter.com/NrClE0Q0GZ
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