Police seize $322m cocaine haul

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[top] Police seize $322m cocaine haul

cnn

MADRID, Spain (Reuters) -- Spanish police said on Monday they had intercepted a boat in the Atlantic on Monday carrying around 240 million euros ($322 million) worth of cocaine.
Spanish special agents working with U.S., Mexican and British intelligence learnt that traffickers were planning to land the four ton haul from Venezuela in Galicia, northern Spain.
They stopped and searched the boat at sea near the Azores, and finding 154 bundles of cocaine hidden on board, arrested the boat's six crew members before they could transfer the stash onto a speed boat headed for Boiro in Galicia.
Galicia's labyrinthine coast, dotted with fishing ports and tourist resorts, is a popular gateway for drug traffickers who want to smuggle cocaine into Europe from Latin America.
Officers also raided homes in Madrid and Galicia, arresting five people and seizing 20,000 euros ($26,810) in cash.
Spanish media reports said the smugglers included Venezuelan, Colombian, Peruvian, Korean and Chinese citizens, but a Spanish police spokesman said their nationalities could not yet be confirmed.