Spain seizes 2.6 tonnes of cocaine in latest Ghana-linked shipment
A fresh cocaine seizure in Europe involving cargo shipped from Ghana has brought renewed attention to the country’s role in international drug-trafficking investigations, after Spanish authorities intercepted 2.6 tonnes of the substance in two containers at the Port of Valencia.
The seizure, announced on November 11 by Spain’s Tax Agency and Civil Guard, resulted in the arrest of two men in Viator, Almeria. The suspects were identified as the importer of the cargo and the person responsible for unloading it.
The containers were loaded at the Port of Tema on August 2 and arrived in Valencia on August 22. They were selected for inspection after customs officials classified them as high-risk consignments. The cocaine was discovered concealed in false compartments in wooden boxes carrying a declared shipment of coconuts.
Following the seizure, investigators monitored the consignment as it was transported from the port to an industrial warehouse in Viator, where the two suspects were arrested during the unloading operation. Spanish authorities say investigations are continuing to establish possible links to other networks and logistical locations in the country.
The interception comes less than two months after French customs seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine in a container carrying plastic waste that had arrived from Ghana at the Port of Dunkirk. That case prompted Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) to investigate the shipment and announce the arrest of three suspects in September.
Unlike the French case, Spanish authorities have not announced any arrests in Ghana or identified Ghanaian suspects in connection with the Valencia seizure. The latest announcement concerns two arrests in Spain, and investigations into the shipment are ongoing.
Source: CNR
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