Officials of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with agents of the National Police, have seized the largest cocaine shipment in Spain to date in the Port of Algeciras (Cádiz).
Specifically, in Operation NANO, almost 9.5 tons of narcotic substance have been seized in a refrigerated maritime container that, coming from Ecuador, was hidden inside banana boxes.
More than 30 different logos were detected in the illicit shipment, which correspond to the different European criminal organisations that received the cache. The criminal organisation responsible for supplying cocaine to the most powerful networks in Europe had an extensive business network for shipping maritime containers from Ecuador to Spain.
The first investigations of the operation -which is part of the Meridional Plan for the fight against drug trafficking in Campo de Gibraltar- began in July when the agents learned of the existence of a criminal organisation responsible for supplying cocaine from South America to Europe. The investigators detected that the network had a wide business network for the shipment of drugs from Ecuador to our country through different Spanish ports, mainly Algeciras and Vigo.
The investigators showed that the organisation operated through a company dedicated to the international trade of bananas located in Machala (Ecuador). From there they sent the merchandise in maritime containers to different Spanish companies controlled by members of the criminal network.
After several efforts, investigators from the Customs Surveillance Service and the National Police confirmed the great logistical capacity of the network, capable of sending 40 containers a month to Europe, discovering that some of them were contaminated with the narcotic substance.
It was from that moment on when Customs officials began to control the organisation’s shipments and a consignment of 15 containers was detected that would presumably enter Europe in early August. For this reason, the mandatory device was established in the Port of Algeciras, to proceed with its inspection.
Finally, on August 23, investigators located a refrigerated container with 9,436 kilos of cocaine, which is the largest cache seized in Spain to date.
This operation has been an unprecedented blow to one of the most important criminal organisations worldwide in the distribution of cocaine whose recipients were the main criminal networks in Europe.
The corresponding proceedings have been conducted on the facts, which, together with the seized effects, have been placed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority.
