Cocaine worth €27 million found hidden among delivery of pineapples in Spanish warehouse

The drugs were found at the warehouse in Malaga during an operation carried out by Spanish police and customs.

The delivery of pineapples came from Colombia, and police believe that the gang involved were operating a number of seemingly legitimate companies specifically to import drugs.

It is alleged that they had an infrastructure in place to allow them to operate at ports throughout Spain.

Five people, four men and one woman, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

During the operation, approximately €35,000 in cash was also seized, as well as documents that could prove the gang’s link to other crimes such as money laundering

In July 2021 Spanish Police were alerted to a suspicious container that had left for Colombia, bound for the port of Malaga.

Police were told the container had coconut substrate which might also be hiding a quantity of cocaine.

During an investigation, police found that several people linked to the companies involved in the shipment had a history of drug trafficking.

When the container arrived at the port of Malaga at the end of July, the gang did not move it for 20 days.

They were later found moving the container to the warehouse where the discovery of narcotics took place.

In the months following, police watched as the coconut was transported to a landfill.

The contents of another container which arrived at a Malaga port in mid September was also sent to landfill.

When police surveying the warehouse in November saw workers handling boxes of pineapple they intervened and seized numerous black holdall bags containing cocaine hydrochloride weighing 747.60 kilos.

The man arrested at the scene, and the lorry driver who transported them were found to have criminal records.

A third man who escaped is being sought by police and an international arrest warrant was issued.

During phase two of the operation, other workers of the companies used by the organisation to bring the cocaine into Spain were arrested also.