(FILE PHOTO) Sri Lanka Navy personnel shows a haul of heroin, with a street value of about 3,300 million rupees ($16.5 million), seized from a fishing vessel off the island's southern waters in Colombo on 25 January 2022.  Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP
WORLD

Spain seizes largest-ever cocaine haul

Agence France-Presse

Spanish police said Wednesday that they had seized 13 tons of cocaine —the country's largest-ever haul of the drug — and made one arrest.

Police and customs agents intercepted the cocaine in the southern port of Algeciras on 14 October from a container ship that had arrived from Ecuador's largest city Guayaquil, a drug-trafficking hub.

The ship carried crates of bananas that concealed identically designed boxes containing the cocaine, and intelligence from Ecuadoran police tipped off the Spanish authorities.

A woman believed to be a partner of the importing company was arrested in the central Spanish city of Toledo and two other suspects are on the run, police said.

Spain is a main entry point for drugs into Europe because of its close ties with former colonies in Latin America and its proximity to Morocco, a top cannabis producer.