Peruvian police have seized 58 kilos of cocaine destined for Belgium, with a Nazi flag on the outside and the name Hitler printed in low relief. The lot, worth $3 million (2.8 million euros), was discovered in a shipping container of asparagus on the Liberian-flagged ship SC Anisha R in the port terminal of Paita, a small city in Peru near the border with Ecuador .
(Image: AP)
According to the police, the intention was that the shipment would be spread over Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Spain after arrival in a Belgian port. No arrests have yet been made.
Nazi-Germany
The 58 packages of cocaine were hidden in the ventilation system of the shipping container. Peruvian authorities have previously reported the interception of blocks of cocaine in brick-shaped packages bearing various and strange symbols, but never before with the flag of Nazi Germany and Hitler’s name embossed. Peruvian police are investigating whether there is a connection with European Nazi groups. Only the symbol may have been used.
90 tons
Peruvian authorities estimate that the country produces about 90 tons of drugs a year and that most of it is smuggled to Europe by sea, as well as by small planes carrying cocaine to Bolivia en route to Atlantic ports.
Peru is the world’s second-largest producer of coca leaves, according to the United Nations, and the second-largest producer of cocaine, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
