• The drugs had arrived in a container at the port of Vigo and were subsequently transported by road to the outskirts of Lisbon.

• During the operation carried out by the Judicial Police, with the support of the Customs Surveillance Service, two individuals were arrested and brought before the court in Portugal.

• The investigations in Spain have been carried out by the Customs Surveillance Service under the direction of the Pontevedra Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office.

July 18, 2025.- An investigation by the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service has led to the seizure of 400 kilos of cocaine in Portugal. As a result of these actions, and in collaboration with the Portuguese Judicial Police, two individuals have been arrested and brought before a court in Portugal. The drugs were found mixed with cat litter in a container from South America that had arrived at the port of Vigo for subsequent road transport to the vicinity of Lisbon.

As part of investigations into drug trafficking carried out by the Vigo Customs Surveillance Service's Operational Unit, the arrival of a suspicious container from South America was detected at the port of Vigo on June 6th. The container had been alerted by the General Subdirectorate of Customs Surveillance Operations.

The declared cargo consisted of cat litter with a total weight of 24,800 kilos. The recipient of the merchandise was a Portuguese company that raised the investigators' suspicions, as it had no sales or import records, which could indicate that it was merely a shell company.

In response to these events, the Risk Analysis Unit (UAR) of Vigo Customs proceeded to physically inspect the merchandise, verifying that it apparently matched the declared contents. Samples were also taken for analysis by the Central Laboratory of the Customs Department of the Tax Agency. One of the samples was found to contain cocaine (cocaine base), at a concentration of approximately 25.5%.

The container travels to Portugal

In light of these events, the Pontevedra Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office authorized the SVA Operational Unit in Vigo to carry out the controlled delivery of the narcotic substance, hidden among the cargo in the container. Therefore, it contacted the Drug Trafficking Investigation Section of the Judicial Police, based in Porto, to coordinate the circulation and controlled delivery of the narcotic substances between the two countries.

The controlled delivery took place on July 4th, departing from the Vigo container terminal, under constant surveillance by officers from the Vigo Combined Unit, to the outskirts of Porto, where it is guarded by officers from the Judicial Police.

Days later, on July 16, officers from the Vigo Combined Unit of the SVA (Spanish Police Service) deployed to Portugal and officers from the Regional Drug Trafficking Investigation Section of the Judicial Police in Porto tracked the cargo to a warehouse located in the town of Po, about 80 km from Lisbon. At that moment, two individuals were arrested: one while unloading the truck transporting the merchandise and the other in the vicinity of the warehouse.

Once inside the warehouse, the agents inspected the bags, identifying at least 200 of them containing narcotics, presumably cocaine, mixed with cat litter. At this time, pending analysis by Portuguese laboratories, it is estimated that the amount of cocaine seized could amount to at least 400 kilos.