Algeria seizes 700kg cocaine on container vessel
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Algerian authorities have seized more than 700kg (1,543lb) of cocaine smuggled aboard a container ship and made 20 arrests.
The vessel was carrying frozen meat from Brazil and had previously docked in Valencia, Spain, says a BBC report.
It was due to offload in Algeria’s western port of Oran but suspicions were raised when the captain refused to dock for three days.
Acting on a tip-off, the Algerian coastguard forced the boat into port.
The drugs were then found aboard the Liberian-registered ship, the Vega Mercury, in boxes marked ‘halal meat’.