Portuguese authorities have arrested a police captain and his accomplice suspected of running a drug trafficking operation that involved importing at least three containers of animal skins containing 1.5 tons of cocaine hidden between rotten layers of raw hides.
A spokesman for the Northern Region's judicial police said on Thursday that the foul smell was making it difficult for investigative teams to seize and weigh the drugs.
The skins were packed fresh in Latin America and arrived in Portugal after weeks of sea travel in a “badly deteriorated state,” a company spokesman said.
The arrested officer was on long-term unpaid leave from the National Reserve Service (GNR) unit in the northern town of Fafe. Local media reported that the officer led an operation to dismantle a major drug network in Fafe two years ago.
Portuguese police, working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, discovered the drug shipment at the port of Leixões but allowed the containers to be seized and traced to a warehouse in Fafe, where more drugs, illegal weapons and thousands of euros in cash were found.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
