Spain Seizes 2.6 Tonnes of Narcotics Hidden in Coconuts Shipped From Ghana's Tema Port

• Spanish authorities found coke concealed beneath false bottoms in wooden crates within two containers that left Tema Port on August 2
• Investigators allowed the sealed containers to continue to their destination, tracking the cargo to a warehouse in Almería before moving in
• The bust is the latest in a string of major drug interceptions overseas involving shipments linked to Ghana's ports

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Spanish authorities have seized 2.6 tonnes of coke hidden inside a coconut shipment originating from Ghana, with two men arrested following a covert surveillance operation spanning two countries.

The Guardia Civil and customs officials released details of the operation on Wednesday, 11 November 2026.

The coke was loaded at Tema Port on 2 August inside two refrigerated containers, which arrived at the port of Valencia roughly 20 days later.

After profiling the consignment as high-risk, officers searched the cargo and discovered the narcotics packed beneath false bottoms built into the wooden crates carrying the coconuts.

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How the Almería Arrests Were Made

Rather than immediately seizing the drug shipment, investigators resealed the containers and kept them under observation to identify those awaiting delivery.

Two refrigerated lorries eventually arrived to collect the consignment. Officers tailed the vehicles to a warehouse at the La Juaida industrial estate in Almería, where arrests were made as the cargo was being unloaded.

The two men detained were identified as the suspected drug importer and the individual overseeing the unloading operation.

A Pattern of Interceptions Linked to Ghana

The Valencia find is one of several large-scale seizures in recent years involving export consignments traced to Ghanaian ports.

In September 2026, French customs at the port of Dunkirk intercepted nearly 3.9 tonnes of coke concealed within a container of plastic waste from Ghana, with the haul valued at approximately €225 million (around US$261 million).

The case prompted Ghana's Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) to announce arrests, and several suspects subsequently appeared before the courts. That investigation raised questions about scan anomalies at Tema Port that were reportedly identified before the containers were cleared for export.

A Syrian national was also arrested at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport on 31 October 2026 after travelling from Accra with roughly 40 kilogrammes of suspected coke distributed across two pieces of luggage.

NACOC confirmed it was cooperating with Lebanese authorities to pursue alleged accomplices in Ghana.

The pattern stretches back further. Belgian customs intercepted 2,829 kilogrammes of coke in cassava flour shipped from Tema to Antwerp in November 2025, followed by a further 1,158 kilogrammes at the same port in December.

In June 2025, Dutch officials seized 4.5 tonnes of coke concealed in a timber consignment from Tema at the Port of Amsterdam, described at the time as the largest such seizure in that port's history. June 2026 also saw Australian authorities announce the discovery of 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine hidden in a charcoal shipment from Ghana.

Figures from Belgian customs, cited by JoyNews Research in September 2026, ranked Ghana fifth among countries of origin for coke seized at Antwerp in 2025, making it the only African nation in the top five.

A separate JoyNews tally published the same month counted 28 narcotics-related cases linked to Ghana since January 2025, with seizures of known weight totalling approximately 15.8 tonnes.

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Source: YEN.com.gh