150 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in frozen fruit pulp: Spanish man arrested in Lisbon
Spain's Civil Guard, Customs Authority and Portuguese Police intercepted the haul in a container from Ecuador bound for Lisbon, valued at four million euros.
Operation Medulla: cocaine concealed in fruit shipment between Algeciras and Lisbon
Google News ES — Crime (es) reports that the Civil Guard, the Customs Surveillance Service and Portuguese Police have seized 150 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in a shipment of frozen fruit pulp from Ecuador, originating from the port of Algeciras (Cádiz) and destined for Lisbon.
The investigation, named 'Operation Medulla', began during routine controls of goods in transit at the Cádiz port, when officers inspected a container declared to contain frozen fruit pulp. Inside the packages they found approximately 500 small packages containing a white compressed substance that laboratory analysis confirmed as cocaine.
The total amount seized came to approximately 150 kilogrammes, with an estimated value on the black market of four million euros.
Given evidence that the shipment's final destination was Portugal, Spanish investigators coordinated with the National Unit for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking of the Portuguese Judicial Police. From that point on, the three agencies maintained continuous exchange of information to identify the alleged perpetrators and prevent the drug from reaching the illicit market.
On 20 August, the shipment was located in a warehouse in the vicinity of Lisbon. During the police operation, the administrator of the company that was the recipient of the merchandise was identified and arrested, a Spanish citizen, on suspicion of involvement with the haul. The detainee will be handed over to the competent Portuguese judicial authorities.
The Civil Guard emphasised in a statement that "the speed of information exchange and coordination between the participating units proved fundamental" to dismantle this international drug-trafficking network. On the Spanish side, the investigation was directed by the Anti-Drug Prosecution Service of the Campo de Gibraltar.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)