by Lloyd's List

7 November 2024 (Lloyd's List) - POLICE have discovered 13 tonnes of cocaine at the port of Algeciras in what has been called Spain’s biggest-ever drugs bust.

The country’s Policia Nacional made the discovery in a container seemingly packed with bananas in a joint operation with customs officials.

Behind boxes filled with the fruit were identical boxes packed with bricks of cocaine.

The container had arrived from Guayaquil, Ecuador, police said, and suspicions were aroused when the exporter listed was an Ecuadorian company that had appeared on police and customs databases for “illicit smuggling”.

Discrepancies were found between the declared and actual cargo, which led to its opening on October 14. Authorities in Spain were alerted to the shipment by the Policia Nacional of Ecuador.

The discovery has been called Spain’s biggest by the force, surpassing the 9.4 tonnes of cocaine found at Algeciras last year. It is the second biggest in European history and the largest shipment ever found in one container.

Searches of properties in Alicante and Madrid were conducted as a result and a partner of the company receiving the shipment has been arrested in Toledo (near Madrid). Two managers of the company remain on the run.