Operation against drug trafficking

• The cardboard had arrived at the port of Barcelona in a total of 14 containers from Guatemala.

• Of the total amount of drugs seized, 990 kilos were located in an industrial warehouse in Madrid, marking the largest seizure of cocaine in this region in the last 20 years.

• To make it difficult to detect, the drug had been placed in only 60 of the 500 imported cardboard bales.

• Five people and the company that imported the legal cargo that camouflaged the drugs were investigated.

June 2, 2025.- Customs Surveillance officers from the Tax Agency have seized 1,190 kilos of cocaine hidden in a "macro-shipment" of 335 tons of cardboard, allegedly destined for recycling, that arrived at the port of Barcelona inside 14 containers from Guatemala. Five people and the company that imported the legal cargo used to disguise the drugs are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the incident. Of the total amount of drugs seized, 990 kilos were found in an industrial warehouse in Madrid, marking the largest seizure of cocaine in this region in the last 20 years.

The operation, dubbed "Shuko," began when investigators became suspicious of a company importing cardboard for recycling from Mexico and Guatemala. Some of the imports made by this company were then sold to Spanish companies dedicated to paper recycling. However, investigators discovered that other containers were being sent to an industrial warehouse in Tarragona without any infrastructure for storing this type of merchandise, and the purpose of these material purchases was unknown.

On March 12, the importing company ordered 14 containers containing 500 bales of cardboard for recycling, weighing a total of 335 tons. The Tarragona Operational Unit of the Customs Surveillance Service monitored the warehouse's activity until it confirmed the arrival of two trucks to load the cargo. When investigators realized that this operation was proceeding much slower than usual, they proceeded to inspect the cardboard being loaded onto the first truck.

First intervention in Tarragona

Upon inspecting the first of the bales, and after removing layer upon layer of a 670-kilo cardboard bale, the officers found a package of cocaine pills inside, so they proceeded to check the rest of the bales that had already been loaded, finding that all of them contained cocaine and bore the same reference number, so they proceeded to locate that number among the rest of the bales that remained in the warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, they found more than 400 bales of cardboard, with different reference numbers and mixed together in no particular order. After an initial search, another bullet with the same reference number was found, also containing cocaine. The seized cocaine already totaled 200 kilos.

Follow-up to Madrid

All bullets with the same reference number were searched for. Since the bales were to be delivered in Madrid, the Duty Court was requested to arrange for a supervised delivery of the merchandise. With the support of the Aragon Customs Surveillance Operational Unit, the two trucks were followed to an industrial warehouse located in the Camarma de Esteruelas industrial estate in Madrid, where the merchandise was to be received, although no one was found responsible for the cargo.

The Madrid Regional Customs Surveillance Area and the Mobile Brigade of the Subdirectorate General of Operations inspected the remaining bales transported to Madrid, finding another 990 kilos of cocaine, for a total of 1,190 kilos of cocaine hidden in 60 of the 500 bales of imported cardboard.

Five people and the company that carried out the imports are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the events.