Fri | Jul 3, 2026

Spain seizes 11 tonnes of cocaine in shipping containers

Published:Tuesday | December 12, 2023 | 3:54 PM
Police officers stand by part of a haul of 11 tonnes of cocaine, displayed on the patio of a police station in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, December 12, 2023. Spanish authorities say that they have confiscated 11 tonnes of cocaine and arrested 20 people in two different operations against the smuggling of illegal drugs inside shipping containers. Investigators believe that the criminal organisation was using a frozen seafood company as a front to bring the drug from South America. (AP Photo/Paul White)

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities have confiscated 11 tonnes of cocaine and arrested 20 people in two different operations against the smuggling of the illegal drugs inside shipping containers, Spain's National Police said Tuesday.

Police said that 7,500 kilogrammes of cocaine seized by agents in the northwestern city of Vigo were hidden between pieces of frozen tuna.

Investigators said that a criminal organisation was using a frozen seafood company as a front to bring the drugs from South America to Spain.

A separate sting by police in the Mediterranean city of Valencia led to the seizure of 3,400 kilogrammes of cocaine found in false bottoms of shipping containers in the eastern city's port.

Police didn't reveal the exact dates of the operation, only indicating that they had been carried out recently.

They said both rings were linked to criminal organisations from the Balkans region.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.