Portuguese authorities announced Tuesday the seizure of 4.2 tons of Colombian cocaine concealed in boxes of bananas.
This is “the most important seizure of cocaine this year and one of the largest in recent years,” said Vitor Ananias, coordinator of criminal investigations for the Judicial Police (PJ).
The drug entered Portuguese territory aboard an Italian-flagged cargo ship through the port of Setúbal, located 30 kilometers south of Lisbon.
The drug “of a high degree of purity” According to the judicial police statement, it was “destined for several European countries and its value is estimated at more than 100 million euros,” Ananias said.
This seizure made it possible to cause “strong economic damage to the criminal organizations involved” in this traffic, the authorities explained.
The operation, the result of international cooperation with Colombia and several European countries, has so far not produced any arrests.