Police seize 700 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside pineapples
Police in Portugal and Spain have seized over 700 kilograms of cocaine after it was hidden inside fresh pineapples.
A staggering 745 kilos of cocaine was covered in yellow wax and wrapped in pineapple skins before it was shipped from South America.
The drugs, along with €400 000 (£352,000) in cash, were seized from shipping containers and formed part of an ongoing investigation across Portugal and Spain that began in April 2017.
An international investigation into the discovery has also been launched, with police arresting nine people and dismantling a laboratory where the drug was cut with additives.
Spanish authorities say that the gang members were led by two Colombian brothers and had two laboratories which operated in Pinto and Nuevo Baztan, two municipalities on the edges of Madrid.
The gang reportedly stored the drugs in a town near Barcelona before transporting it to the Madrid laboratories every 15-20 days.
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The Iberian Peninsula is a major gateway for drugs in Europe, having been transported via Latin America or via North Africa.
In a statement, Portuguese investigators confirmed that the ‘organised international group’ behind the smuggling ring were responsible for bringing ‘large quantities of cocaine to the European continent.’
