Spanish police and customs seized 13 tonnes of cocaine found in a container of bananas from Ecuador at the port of Algeciras on Wednesday.
According to Spanish police, it is the largest cocaine shipment in Spanish history, the second largest in EU history and one of the largest in the world. Police discovered the huge drug shipment in a container of bananas from Ecuador at the port of Algeciras.
In a statement, police said the bananas had been sent to a Spanish importer who has been receiving large shipments of fruit from Ecuador for several years. However, the Ecuadorian exporter turned up on a drug trafficking database, prompting the inspection.
The drugs were disguised as bananas, hidden in fruit boxes and behind screens.
Authorities conducted five more raids on homes and offices in Madrid and Alicante. One person was detained and police issued arrest warrants for two executives of the importing company.
The drug shipment broke all Spanish records. Previously, the largest cocaine seizures were 9.4 tonnes in 2023 and 8.7 tonnes in 2018.
Last August, 9.5 tonnes of cocaine was seized in Algeciras. It was disguised as a shipment of bananas and hidden in 1,080 boxes. Investigators then tracked down at least 30 European companies linked to the shipment.
