In a joint operation with customs officers in the southern port of Algeciras, the Spanish national police seized almost a ton of cocaine hidden in containers shipped from South America, and the drug belonged to the so-called 'Balkan cartel', the police said.

“The Balkan cartel is currently the most active at the European level,” according to the police.

The police also said that Latin American groups send cocaine to that group hidden among legal goods in containers that arrive in Spanish ports by ship.

The police operation started after a tip-off about the arrival of a container with a “significant amount of cocaine” in Algeciras, one of the largest ports in Spain, in the province of Andalusia.

The agents, who have been investigating the activities of the ‘Balkan cartel’ for a long time, also had information that this group, made up of citizens from the territory of the former Yugoslavia, was also looking for a way to process that cocaine.

At the same time, they received a warning from Colombia that a ship from Ecuador, which has a break in Colombia, intends to transport cocaine to a port in Spain.

Agents identified the ship’s number, and when it sailed into Algeciras, investigators opened the containers and found 415 kilograms of the drug.

Based on new information, they found out that another container with drugs was arriving in Algeciras, so they found an additional 500 kilograms of cocaine in it, it was stated in the announcement.

“Difficulties in researching the members of these organisations lie in their mobility. They are able to travel thousands of kilometers to hold a meeting,” the Spanish police said. “The investigation is continuing in order to identify all the members of the network and arrest them.”

So far, it is unknown whether anyone was arrested during the discovery of the container with cocaine.