Spain’s police have seized around 740 kilos of cocaine that was hidden in a container of pineapples on its way to the Alhaurin de la Torre in Malaga. It was found by customs surveillance officers from Spain’s Tax Agency. The police tracked it and arrested the five people involved.
Among those who were arrested were people working in transportation companies. Investigators expect they had created a smuggling network through Spain’s ports. A Romanian woman, two Italian men, and two Spanish men were arrested. The sixth individual escaped during the operation known as Narino.
Surveillance of the warehouse where it was brought showed a total of 638 bags of cocaine which weighed roughly 747.6 kilos. The police arrested the man who was discovered taking the packets of cocaine from the pineapples as well as the lorry driver who brought the shipment to the warehouse. In the second stage of the investigation, they arrested the managers and directors of the key companies who were orchestrating these shipments.
Spanish police have said this is a common way for people to smuggle drugs into Spain. Investigations into these trafficking cases began back in July when police were warned by a number of international institutions that drugs such as cocaine were arriving in fruit containers and shipments of coconut substrate.
The police have also said further searches were carried out throughout Valencia and this resulted in a seizure of 35,000 euros in cash. They also found numerous documents which were able to show other criminal activity the organisation was involved in which included money laundering. Further arrests have not been ruled out.
