Spanish authorities have intercepted 2,600 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in two shipping containers that arrived at the Port of Valencia from Ghana, arresting two people suspected of involvement in the importation and unloading of the consignment. The seizure was announced in a press release issued on November 11, 2026, by Spain’s Tax Agency and Civil Guard. The two suspects were arrested in Viator, in the province of Almeria, and are believed to be the importer of the shipment and the individual responsible for unloading the drugs.
The cocaine was hidden in specially constructed false compartments beneath the floors of wooden boxes used to transport coconuts. The containers had been declared as carrying coconuts. According to Spanish authorities, the containers were loaded at Ghana’s Port of Tema on August 2, 2026, before arriving at the Port of Valencia on August 22 aboard a container vessel.
The shipment attracted the attention of the Entry Summary Unit of the Customs Surveillance service after routine international trade checks identified it as high-risk. A subsequent physical inspection uncovered false bottoms in the wooden boxes, with investigators discovering that the cocaine had been concealed beneath the structures rather than inside the coconuts.
Following the discovery, authorities placed the containers under surveillance as they were transferred from the Valencia port into two refrigerated trucks. The vehicles were then tracked as they travelled to an industrial warehouse at the La Juaida estate in Viator, Almeria, where the two suspects were arrested after investigators monitored the premises.
The operation was carried out by the Valencia and Almeria Operational Units of Customs Surveillance, in collaboration with the Civil Guard’s Organised Crime Unit and its Fiscal and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit in Valencia.
The latest interception adds to growing scrutiny of cocaine shipments reaching European ports from Ghana. In September 2026, French customs officials seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the northern port of Dunkirk. The drugs were concealed in a container transporting plastic waste that had originated from Ghana. That seizure prompted Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission to open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shipment and how it passed through the country.
However, Spanish authorities have not identified any Ghanaian nationals as suspects in connection with the latest operation, nor have they disclosed whether any arrests have been made in Ghana. Spain’s Tax Agency said investigations remain ongoing, with authorities seeking to establish whether the arrested individuals have links to money-laundering networks and identify other logistical locations in Spain that may have been involved in the operation.
