The suspected leader of the group has been monitored travelling to Colombia on a couple of occasions to meet with other drug traffickers. The details of this latest incident reflected much of what is going on in Southern Spain and confirmed that the region is among the key entry points to Europe for smuggling operations.
International assistance has played a vital role in keeping the Spanish authorities posted on a banana shipment that will arrive at port Algeciras from Colombia.
From the dock, the cargo is then forwarded to a warehouse in Sevilla where 1,984 pounds of cocaine hidden in one of the containers were found. Three persons have also been arrested in connection with the botched passage.
On its 2016 report, the European Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has written that maritime seizures involving containers have increased six-fold since 2006 with a steep surge in 2010.
Spain has seen a large number of container entrapments through Algeciras which is 125 miles by road from Sevilla, Southern Spain's largest city.
The countries that captured the most cocaine from 2011-2014 are Spain, which accounted for about 50 percent of all seizures, Belgium, France, Italy, the UK and Portugal. For the record, both Portugal and Spain remain the most significant entry for illegal dopes in Southern Europe.
The EMCDDA further states that concealing drugs within shipments of perishable goods is a common tactic since ports allow these to gain entry quickly.
Among traffickers in North America, pungent odors of food will mask drug scent and will usually deter inspectors. Risky methods including the use of drug mules remain common despite the tight implementation of anti-illegal drug regulations.
