Police seek drug gang after 700 kilos of cocaine turns up in shipping container

The Catalan regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, are trying to track down a criminal gang that hid nearly 700 kilograms of cocaine in a shipping container that ended up in a logistics company located in Esparreguera, in Baix Llobregat county.

But sources close to the inquiry believe that it will not be easy to find the drug traffickers.

The cocaine seized by authorities on Tuesday was hidden in a container sent from Guatemala. The legitimate goods inside consisted of a food additive, but the sacks containing the substance also held 18 sports bags in which blocks of the drug were hidden.

On Tuesday, an employee at the logistics company got in touch with the authorities after discovering the suspicious white powder.

Initial police theories suggest that the drugs would have been stowed in the container in Guatemala without the knowledge of the export company. When the goods reach the destination port, members of the criminal organization remove the drugs and close the container once more, replacing the customs seals.

Sources from the case explain that the technique allows large quantities of drugs to be transported without any gang members risking complete exposure to arrest.

The authorities are trying to find out what prevented the traffickers from recovering the cocaine.

Initially, the Mossos were waiting to see if a member of the gang would try to recover the substance. But it soon became clear that the criminals had given up the haul for lost, meaning that the investigation remains open.