A joint operation by the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• The drug was attempted to be introduced with the 'blind hook' technique in two of the cases and camouflaged within the merchandise in the third.

October 25, 2022 .- Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency and agents of the Civil Guard have seized 620 kilos of cocaine in the port of Valencia in three seizures of containers that came from Central America and South America.

The first of the actions was carried out on October 10, when investigators detected a container suspected of transporting drugs. After opening, 224 cocaine pills weighing one kilo each were found placed among the transported merchandise, which was fruit juice. The seized container originated in Costa Rica and was destined for Valencia.

A few days later, on October 17, the second arrest took place. After a new container inspection, 365 cocaine pills, weighing one kilo each, were detected placed on top of the merchandise, in this case jars of piquillo peppers from Peru.

In both containers, the narcotic substance was hidden in packages that had been placed, without the knowledge of the sender or recipient, on the cargo and in the side spaces of the containers. This format of attempted drug introduction is known as 'missed hook' or 'rip off'.

The technique consists of, at some point during the transportation of the merchandise, drug traffickers access the container to introduce the cocaine and, when it arrives at another port, open it to recover the drugs before it is inspected by Customs.

Two days later, on October 19, the third intervention took place. In this case, the drug was camouflaged inside sheets of plywood, coming from Brazil and destined for Syria, and was located thanks to the scanning of the container carried out by the Brazilian authorities. 18 packages of cocaine weighing 31 kilos were found.

As a consequence of the interventions, crimes against public health in the form of drug trafficking, money laundering and criminal organization are investigated. So far there have been no arrests.