Spanish police seize 3.8 metric tons of cocaine

Spanish authorities said on Friday they seized 3.8 metric tons of cocaine in just over a month at the port of Valencia, as drug smugglers presumed police would be off-guard during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cocaine was found in six containers which had arrived from Latin America.

Police arrested 11 people, including eight Spaniards, two Dutch and one person from Ivory Coast.

Some port workers are also suspected of involvement in the scheme.

The investigations began in April after a tip-off from the US Drug Enforcement Agency and Homeland Security Investigations, Spanish police said in a statement.

The drug was concealed in various ways, including inside bags of sugar, barrels of pineapple pulp, and among Californian walnuts.

According to the statement, amid an increase in maritime traffic arriving in Valencia, traffickers presumed that "supervision and investigative activities by Spanish authorities would be diminished" due to a state of emergency and national lockdown to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

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