Spanish authorities have seized 2,600 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in two shipping containers that arrived at the Port of Valencia from Ghana.
The seizure, announced in a press release issued on November 11, 2026, by Spain’s Tax Agency and Civil Guard, also led to the arrest of two people in Viator, in the province of Almeria, over their alleged involvement in the importation and unloading of the consignment.
The suspects were identified as the importer of the cargo and the person responsible for unloading it.
The cocaine was concealed in false compartments built into wooden boxes used to transport coconuts, which were declared as the contents of the containers.
According to the Spanish authorities, the containers were loaded at the Port of Tema on August 2, 2026, and arrived at the Port of Valencia on August 22 aboard a container ship.
The containers were flagged for inspection by the Entry Summary Unit of the Customs Surveillance service after being assessed as presenting a high-risk profile during routine international trade controls.
A physical inspection revealed false bottoms in the wooden boxes carrying the coconuts. Investigators found that the cocaine had been hidden beneath the false structures rather than inside the coconuts.
Authorities subsequently placed the containers under surveillance as they were moved from the Valencia docks into two refrigerated trucks.
The trucks travelled by road to an industrial warehouse at the La Juaida estate in Viator, Almeria, where the two suspects were arrested following surveillance of the premises.
The operation involved the Valencia and Almeria Operational Units of Customs Surveillance, alongside the Civil Guard’s Organised Crime Unit and its Fiscal and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit in Valencia.
The seizure comes amid growing attention to cocaine consignments intercepted in Europe after arriving from Ghana.
In September 2026, French customs authorities seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the northern port of Dunkirk. The drugs were concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana.
The interception prompted Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission to launch an investigation into how the consignment moved through the country.
Spanish authorities have not named any Ghanaian suspects in connection with the latest seizure or disclosed whether arrests have been made in Ghana.
Spain’s Tax Agency said investigations were continuing to establish the arrested suspects’ possible links to money-laundering networks and other logistical points in Spain.
Source: citinewsroom
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