Spanish Customs officials have seized a massive shipment of 2,597 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a container that arrived at the Port of Barcelona from Ecuador. The container was destined for Tortosa, a city in Catalonia, where it was expected to deliver legal goods, namely plant fiber. However, beneath the legal cargo, Customs officers uncovered the illicit drugs.
The bust was made possible by international cooperation and timely intelligence from Ecuador’s National Police. This collaboration helped investigators pinpoint the exact container carrying the drugs, which had been cleverly concealed using a method known as “rip-off” or “blind hook.”
The container, which had arrived from Guayaquil, Ecuador, was flagged for further inspection after a routine scan at the Port of Barcelona on October 29. The initial scan showed an anomaly in the container’s image, suggesting the possible presence of drugs, although the results were not conclusive at first.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the container was supposed to carry textile bundles to a company in Tortosa with regular imports from Ecuador. Authorities decided to monitor the shipment closely until they confirmed the destination and were able to set up a discreet surveillance operation.
On November 6, officers carried out a thorough inspection at the destination warehouse. As the container was being unloaded, they noticed several black bales that looked suspicious compared to the rest of the cargo. Upon opening these bales and conducting a drug test, the substances inside tested positive for cocaine.
Additionally, investigators found counterfeit seals on the container that matched the original seals placed at the port of origin in Ecuador. This pointed to the “rip-off” method, where smugglers plan to reseal the container after retrieving the drugs, in an attempt to make the illegal entry go undetected.
The operation revealed a sophisticated smuggling technique where the drugs were placed in a legitimate shipment of goods. The criminals intended to remove the cocaine at the destination port before the container reached its final commercial recipient. In this case, however, the illicit load was delivered along with the legal cargo because the “rescue” operation did not take place at the port as planned.
The cocaine was packed into manageable bales, weighing between 50 and 70 kilograms, which could easily be manipulated for quick removal. This illicit activity is usually carried out just before the container is loaded onto the ship in the port of origin, making it harder for customs to detect, as the shipment has already passed initial inspections.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not ruled out future arrests related to this smuggling ring.
