Spanish police have seized a record amount of 13 tons of cocaine in the southern Spanish port of Algeciras in a container of bananas from Ecuador.
The shipment, discovered on October 14, broke the previous record of 9.4 tons of cocaine that was also found in 2023 at the port of Algeciras, which is the fourth largest container port in Europe.
"It is clear that these 13 tons of cocaine were not intended only for the Spanish market. The Spanish market cannot absorb such a large amount of drugs at once. This amount would be distributed throughout Europe," Antonio Jesus Martines, head of the Central Narcotics Prosecution Brigade of the National Police, told reporters.
Spanish police were on alert when they were tipped off by their counterparts in Ecuador, the world's biggest banana exporter, that a suspicious shipment was on its way.
Martinez said a woman, a partner in the company that received the shipment, had been arrested, although the two managers of the importing company had escaped.
????Interceptado en #Algeciras el mayor alijo en la historia del narcotráfico en #España
— National Police (@policia) November 6, 2024
????Se ha contado con la cooperation de la @PoliciaEcuador y supone, además, la segunda mayor encautación en #Europe en un solo contenador así como una de las mayores a nivel mundial
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