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The suspicion of tampering with fresh fruit led the agents to check three pallets with 38 boxes of avocados, all of them with different amounts of cocaine hidden.
On Tuesday, Spain seized 530 kilos of cocaine from the Dominican Republic in a joint operation between the Civil Guard and the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance.
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According to official reports, authorities intercepted the drug that was hidden inside a shipment of avocados, in an action carried out last Saturday as part of the inspections of goods arriving in Spain at Barajas Adolfo Suarez International Airport.
The suspicion of tampering with fresh fruit led the agents to check three pallets with 38 boxes of avocados, all of them with different amounts of cocaine hidden, and with a total weight of 2,268 kilos net.
This is a method used by drug traffickers to introduce narcotics through import-export companies, known as "rip off" or "lost hook," the agents said.
Madrid.- La Guarda Civil y Vigilancia Aduanera de la Agencia Tributaria española intervinieron 530 kilos de cocaína en el aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, que viajaban ocultos en una partida de aguacates procedente de República Dominicana.
— Francisco Camacho (@camachosoft) December 5, 2023
The tweet reads, "The Civil Guard and Customs Surveillance of the Spanish Tax Agency intercepted 530 kilos of cocaine at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, which were hidden in a consignment of avocados coming from the Dominican Republic."
Criminals target shipments of legal merchandise from reputable import companies with steady traffic in order to avoid suspicion during customs controls.
Once the merchandise arrives at the destination point, they have people who remove it before it is shipped, managing to obtain a large quantity of drugs without taking any risks.
The companies in charge of the merchandise are unaware of the actions of the criminals, who act at the last moment, bribing the officials.
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