Fifty-eight one-kilo packages of cocaine warpped in Nazi swastikas and bearing the word Hitler have been seized by Peruvian police.
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The haul was intercepted in the port of Paita, on Peru's northern Pacific coast close to its border with Ecuador.
The drugs were hidden inside a shipping container carrying asparagus on the Liberian-flagged vessel SC Anisha R that had earlier anchored in the Ecuadorian port of Ecuador, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press. It said the shipment was destined for Belgium.
The Peruvian police's anti-drug directorate showed videos and photographs to AP revealing that the drugs were inside the ventilation system of a container.
Police continued to search the more than 80 containers on the vessel.
Peruvian authorities have previously reported finding cocaine in brick-shaped packages with various and strange symbols, but never with one of the flag of Nazi Germany.
Authorities in Peru estimate the country produces around 100 tonnes of drugs per year and most leave for Europe by sea, but also through small planes that carry cocaine to Bolivia, on its way to Atlantic ports.
Peruvian officials seized 22 tonnes of cocaine in 2022.
After Colombia, Peru is the largest producer of cocaine in the world, with around 400 tonnes a year, according to official figures.
with DPA
Australian Associated Press
