Spain Makes Record Cocaine Bust Involving Container Ship

Photo: MarineTraffic.com / Hsu Hao-En

Spain’s Ministry of the Interior said the bust was the largest seizure of cocaine so far this century and the largest-ever involving a container ship. The ship is identified as the MV BANAK, which is flagged in the Marshall Islands. 

MADRID, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Spain has made its largest cocaine bust in 18 years, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, after more than 5,800 kg of the drug were discovered on a container ship traveling from Medellin in Colombia.

The ship, stopped in the southern port of Algeciras, was carrying bananas from Colombia to El Prat de Llobregat, the location of the international airport in Catalonia, the ministry said.

Three people had been arrested in relation to the haul, including the Spanish head of the import company using the container, and more arrests have not been ruled out with at least two more under investigation, it said.

The cocaine, which was discovered Nov. 28 and had a street value of some 210 million euros ($250 million), was divided into 1 kg blocks and marked to identify its eventual distribution to a number of destinations and organizations, the ministry said. ($1 = 0.8430 euros) (Reporting by Paul Day; Editing by Alison Williams)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017.

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