Spain Confiscates Cocaine Mixed With Salt for Animal Feed Shipped from Colombia

Spanish Authorities confiscated 620 kilos of cocaine mixed into mineral salt intended for animal feed.

It had been shipped to the Port of Barcelona from Colombia, per the Customs Agency. The shipment arrived in Barcelona on January 8, 2024, and was sent to Madrid.

Over the years, Spanish Customs Agents have found cocaine smuggled into the country in many ingenious ways, like being mixed into fruit pulp or wood pulp, even moulded into wooden pallets.

Seven people, mostly Ecuadorians and Colombians, were arrested, among them the manager of the importing company who was arrested from his home.

Per a customs spokesperson, the cocaine seemed to have been dyed and coated in a masking agent to prevent it from being detected. Salt used for animal feed is brownish and coarse, so the culprits died cocaine to make it look the same, he added.

Customs Agents had already received information about the shipment and nabbed it on arrival, discovering salt imported by a company in Sant Cugat del Valles, outside Barcelona.

Lab tests confirmed that 34 sacks of the 1000 tested positive for cocaine, and then investigators found 620 kilos of the drug.

The shipment was tracked to Torrejon de Ardoz outside Madrid, where they made arrests on January 22. Three suspects were taken into custody, and four were charged but later released; their passports were taken away.

References: Barrons, Feed Strategy

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Source: Maritime Shipping News