Operation of the Tax Agency and National Police

• The operation has had the close cooperation of the National Police of Ecuador and represents the largest seizure, not only in Spain, but also in Europe in a single container, and one of the largest worldwide.

• The drug was travelling in a container from Ecuador that was transporting a load of bananas destined for a Spanish importer in the Valencian Community.

• The cocaine was found in packages that completely filled each box of bananas and fruit screens had been placed to hide the drug.

• The importer had been receiving large quantities of fruit from Ecuador for years, which made the analysis and inspection of its shipments extremely difficult.

• During the operation, five raids and searches were carried out in homes and offices in Madrid and Alicante, and one person was arrested, while the two managers of the importing company are wanted.

November 6, 2024 .- Officials from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, together with agents from the National Police, have intercepted a container in the port of Algeciras that was transporting a total of 13,062 kilos of cocaine, which represents the largest shipment of this drug seized to date in the history of drug trafficking in Spain, as well as the second largest intervention in all of Europe (the largest in a single container) and one of the most important worldwide.

Within the framework of this 'mega-intervention', five raids and searches have been carried out in homes and offices in Madrid and Alicante, and one person has been arrested, while the two managers of the importing company are wanted.

Exporter with a history of drug trafficking

The container had set sail from the port of Guayaquil (Ecuador), from where it travelled to Algeciras. The Ecuadorian exporter appeared in customs and police databases with a history of illicit trafficking. 

Upon arrival at the port of Algeciras, the container was inspected by the Tax Agency's 'Medusa' mobile scanner, and in the first images discrepancies were observed between the declared and actual cargo, which led to the opening, carried out on October 14.

The contaminated container had a screen made up of boxes actually loaded with bananas to hide the drugs. Behind this screen was a large number of boxes, identical to the previous ones, but inside which were hidden bricks of cocaine packaged to the exact size of those boxes.

Records in Alicante and Madrid

As a result of the discovery, after the first proceedings, five judicial searches were carried out by order of the Investigating Court No. 3 of Algeciras, four in Alicante and the province, and one in Madrid, with the intervention of abundant documentation that will be analyzed by the investigators, at the same time that a female partner of the company receiving the shipment was arrested in Toledo, while the two managers of the importing company are wanted by the police.

Cooperation with the National Police of Ecuador

Members of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and UDYCO and GRECO of the National Police Corps have participated in a historic operation that exceeds the largest seizures recorded in Spain to date (9.4 tons in 2023 and 8.7 tons in 2018), and which has been possible thanks to the close cooperation of the National Police of Ecuador with the Spanish authorities, since the participation of the National Directorate of Anti-Drug Investigations of the Ecuadorian Police made it possible to profile the shipment and alert investigators in Spain to proceed with the exhaustive analysis and inspection of the container.

The seized items, together with the person arrested, have been placed at the disposal of the Investigating Court number 3 of Algeciras.