A joint operation by the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• The seizure is the result of two consecutive operations – 185 kilos and 1.212 tonnes respectively – in the monitoring of goods from South America.
• The total street value of the drugs would have been more than 86 million euros.

June 14, 2021.- The Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, within the framework of a joint operation, have seized 1,397 kilos of cocaine in two consecutive operations carried out in the months of March and May in the port of Bilbao. Specifically, the Risk Analysis Unit of the Bilbao port customs area, which reports to the Regional Customs Division of the Basque Country and is made up of officials from the Customs Surveillance Service and agents from the Guardia Civil, seized a first cache of 185 kilos of cocaine at the end of March, and in May a second cache of 1.212 tonnes, both hidden in containers from South America.

In both cases, irregularities were detected in the containers and they were transferred to the Integral Customs Recognition Centre that the Tax Agency has at the customs premises for an in-depth inspection.

As the goods were being unloaded, a number of undeclared bundles resembling those used for the transport of narcotics could be seen. Inside were hidden a large number of packages containing the substance, which turned out to be cocaine.

The 1.397 tonnes would have a street value of more than 86 million euros. Investigations are still ongoing and future arrests have not been ruled out.

At the same time, the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service has launched investigations into money laundering.

Intensified monitoring

These apprehensions have the seizure of 1.1 tonnes of cocaine made by the Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency in April last year as a precedent (operation 'Hammer'). As a result of this operation, the Regional Customs Division of the Tax Agency in the Basque Country further intensified customs control mechanisms on imports of goods within the context of securing the international trade logistics chain.

According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, containers are one of the main shipping channels for bringing cocaine into Europe. It should be noted that two thirds of the cocaine seized on the continent has travelled by sea.

Spain is one of the hottest spots for this method. It is introduced mainly by sea, using ingenious methods such as the so-called 'lost hook', taking advantage of companies that carry out legal activities and even camouflaging the drugs inside goods such as pieces of fruit, tinned food or metal cylinders.