Post a comment 
German authorities have seized more than eight metric tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of 500 million euros ($582 million) from a container that arrived from West Africa, with reports suggesting the shipment originated from Sierra Leone.
The container was supposed to be carrying cacao beans but instead contained more than 400 packets wrapped in black foil, each holding about 20 blocks of compressed cocaine.
The X (formerly Twitter) account Crime Intel @WorldCrimeIntel reported that the shipment came from Sierra Leone, though German investigators have not officially confirmed the specific country of origin, stating only that the container had arrived from West Africa.
German customs investigators said the cocaine was seized on February 9 in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven.
The container was destined for Spain. The drugs were destroyed in Germany before the container was sent on to Barcelona.
On May 14, two suspected organisers of the shipment were arrested in El Ejido, in the Spanish province of Almería. Investigators identified the two suspects and arrested them during a handover of the container.
According to a statement from investigators, one of the suspects is the manager of an import company and has been linked to a previous cocaine shipment by Spanish customs. The pair could face prison sentences in Spain if tried and convicted.
The seizure represents one of the largest drug hauls in recent European history. The 500 million euro street value underscores the scale of the operation and the potential involvement of international drug trafficking networks operating through West African ports.
Sierra Leonean authorities have not yet issued an official response to the reports linking the shipment to the country.
