A joint operation by the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• The drug was traveling in a shipment from the Dominican Republic declared as fresh fruit

• Agents located the 'missing hook' during daily inspections at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport

December 5, 2023.- Within the framework of the devices established at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency and agents of the Civil Guard have managed to intervene 530 kilos of cocaine that was traveling hidden in a shipment of fresh fruit from the Dominican Republic.

The intervention took place last Saturday, December 2, as part of the inspections carried out on merchandise arriving in our country through the international airport, after detecting possible manipulation in a batch declared as fresh fruit when it was being cleared by the Customs Authorities.

The shipment, consisting of three pallets containing 38 boxes of avocados, had a total weight of 2,268 kilos. In all the boxes there was one of the packages containing drugs.

'Lost hook' or 'rip off'

This method is used by traffickers to try to introduce large quantities of drugs at the airport of origin, without the knowledge of the importing and exporting companies. They seek shipments of goods from legal import companies with a constant flow of shipments, seeking to go unnoticed by customs guards.

Once the merchandise reaches its destination, there are people who remove the merchandise before it is dispatched, making it possible to obtain a large quantity of drugs without taking any risks.

Customs Surveillance officers from the Tax Agency and Civil Guard agents from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport participated in the operation.