Cocaine intercepted in Cartagena

In a joint operation between the Guardia Civil and Customs officials over 1,500 grams of extremely high grade cocaine paste has been found hidden in children’s toys which were intercepted upon arrival in Spain.

The packets were sent by post from Peru.

The operation began in April when the US embassy got in touch with the Guardia Civil to alert them to the fact that they had detected drugs in a postal packet.

The packet was addressed to a resident of Cartagena who never picked it up. The police later identified the man and detained him on suspicion of receiving illegal goods.

Once agents had verified that the name on the packet was fake they were legally allowed to open it and found, hidden inside toys, the 135,000 doses of cocaine which would have had a street value of around €85,000.

Although Guardia Civil have no way of catching the original sender a spokesperson commented that by catching the receptor they have cut off an important supply line.