Peru police seize cocaine packets bearing Nazi flag
Fifty-eight one-kilo packages of cocaine wrapped in Nazi swastikas and bearing the word Hitler have been seized by Peruvian police.
In this photo provided by the Peruvian Anti-Drug Police, an officer shows blocks of cocaine marked with Nazi swastikas and stamped with the name “HITLER”, at the port of Paita, Piura region, Peru, Thursday, May 25, 2023.
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 flags 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
That would draw the attention of the Peru police and customs rather than disguise the drugs.