The customs officials of Marseille seized 138.5 kg of cocaine in a transit container at the port of Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône), during a control operation at the end of June. A survey conducted in cooperation with the Spanish authorities made it possible to challenge four people near Barcelona.
The ship at the origin of this seizure started from Chile, and had stopped in Ecuador, before stopping at the port of Fos-sur-Mer for an extended stopover. The agents of the Regional Directorate of Customs of Marseille, intrigued by this journey, decided to set up a reinforced control device.
Estimated at nine million euros
Among the 1820 containers landed, 180 were identified as “priority” and inspected using a mobile scanner.
“Customs officials discover, hidden in the middle of the lawful cargo, several synthetic canvas bags containing cocaine breads, camouflaged between cardboard coils”said customs in a press release. She specifies that “This technique is typical of the so-called ‘rip-off’ technique, which consists for criminal organizations to pollute commercial freight with drugs”.
The entry, supported by the gendarmerie to secure the operation, made it possible to recover 138.5 kg of almost pure cocaine, whose resale value is estimated at around nine million euros.
Rather than immediately withdrawing illegal cargo, the police have decided to set up a “Surveified delivery”. The container left Fos-sur-Mer on July 10, direction Barcelona, with the aim of identifying the recipients of narcotic products.
Upon his arrival at the port of Barcelona, on July 14, the container was discreetly taken care of by the DIRECIMENT Adjunta of Vigilancia Aduanera (DAVA), the Spanish customs authority specializing in the fight against drug trafficking.
“Three days later, the container leaves the terminal to reach a warehouse located 30 km from Barcelona. The Spanish authorities then trigger their looping operation and stop two individuals on the site”still indicates customs. Two other people will then be arrested.
The survey revealed the existence of complicities in the port sector, confirming the establishment of the criminal network in maritime logistics. This operation was carried out as part of cooperation between French customs intelligence, the Spanish Dava and under the supervision of the specialized interregional court (JIRS) of Marseille.
16 kg of cocaine seized on July 10
Finally, on July 10, a second seizure of 16 kg of cocaine was carried out on the same port of Fos-sur-Mer by the customs officers of Marseille. It was also based on the “rip-off” method, but “No formal link has been established between the two cases”.