Customs seize container carrying €2.7 million worth of cocaine, two days after a 91.2kg haul

Customs has seized a container carrying cocaine worth €2.7 million, just 48 hours after it busted 91.2kg of the same drug.

In a statement Tuesday evening, the Customs Department said its Container Monitoring Unit had scanned several containers, with irregularities having been detected in one of them, pointing to possible narcotics hidden in a refrigeration compressor unit.

A total of 20 packets of cocaine, weighing 24kg, were elevated, with a total estimated street value of €2.7 million. The container was transhipping to Malta from South America, en-route to Tirana, in Albania.

The case was handed over to the police Anti-Drug Squad, who are conducting investigations. A magistrate is leading an inquiry on the case, assisted by a team of experts from the forensics unit.

Last year was a record breaker in terms of cocaine hauls, which saw the Customs Department seizing a total of 284.7kg of cocaine.

This year, in just 14 weeks, the customs department surpassed last years’ drug detection results, seizing 515.2kg of cocaine.