Portuguese police said Monday they had seized 9.4 metric tons (10.4 tons) of cocaine hidden in a ship container and broken up an international drug-smuggling ring.
A police statement said a joint investigation with Spanish authorities that lasted almost three years led to the discovery of the cocaine last month in a ship that docked at Lisbon after traveling from Venezuela.
several tons of cocaine hidden in a cargo of frozen octopus. Eight people are in custody.235 of the 635 boxes on board were found to contain a frozen substance with traces of octopus, but which also tested positive for cocaine. The total weight, including the ice, is 9.4 tons. A complete analysis of the cargo is being carried out at the Police Forensics Laboratory in Lisbon to determine exactly how much cocaine is in the boxes.Five of the eight arrests took place in Spain: in Toledo, Madrid and Salamanca. One of them is originally from Colombia, but now has Spanish nationality. There were also four property searches which resulted in police confiscating 50,000 € in cash, laptop computers and PDAs, two luxury vehicles, mobile phones, and a large amount of documentation.
The refrigerated container reached the port in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, on 22nd December, ostensibly with a cargo of 24 tons of frozen octopus. It came from Venezuela and was to be delivered to a Portuguese importers, and then sent on to Spain.
The cocaine was dissolved in a frozen liquid that was part of a cargo of octopus, the statement said.
Following the seizure, Spanish police arrested five suspects, including one Colombian, and two other people were detained in Portugal.three people taken into custody in Portugal are all Portuguese, and one is a woman.
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