Spanish authorities found a record 9.5 tons of cocaine in a shipment from Ecuador that was destined for 30 European drug trafficking networks.
The large shipment was discovered Wednesday in a refrigerated container of bananas in the southern port of Algeciras.
The boxes were marked with 30 logos that correlated with different European criminal networks that were expected to obtain the coveted drug.
Police did not name any of the organizations.
“This operation was an unprecedented blow to one of the world’s largest criminal organizations in the distribution of cocaine, targeting major criminal networks in Europe,” police said in a statement.
The criminal organization in Ecuador had a wide network to send drugs to Spain, mainly to the northwestern ports of Algeciras and Vigo, through an international banana trading company located in Ecuador’s main banana port, Machala.
Spanish authorities found a record 9.5 tons of cocaine in a banana shipment from Ecuador that was destined for 30 European drug trafficking networks.Reuters
The boxes were marked with 30 logos that correlated with different European criminal networks that were expected to obtain the coveted drug. Police did not name any of the organizations. Reuters
They were able to ship up to 40 containers a month, some of them containing drugs, police said.
The boxes were supposed to contain 1,080 bananas, according to José Carlos Arobes, a senior official with the Spanish tax agency.
An investigation began in July after police received information about a shipment of Colombian cocaine originating from Ecuador in August.
Police did not name any of the organizations involved in the shipment.Reuters
An investigation began in July after police received information about a shipment of Colombian cocaine originating from Ecuador in August. Police were warned that it would come via a shipment of bananas.Reuters
The shipment was to move to Portugal after passing through Spain.
No arrests have been made.
Prior to the shipment, the largest shipment of cocaine the country had ever seen was 8.4 tons in 2018, which was also found in a banana shipment.
With mail cables.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn