Spanish authorities have released footage showing how officers discovered 2.6 tonnes of cocaine concealed beneath coconuts in a shipment that arrived from Ghana.
The video captures officers at a warehouse using a forklift to move wooden crates filled with coconuts. When the crates are tipped over, the coconuts spill onto the floor, exposing several packages hidden underneath.
Further inspection revealed that the wooden crates had been fitted with false bottoms designed to conceal the drugs. Beneath the coconuts were brick-shaped packages wrapped in different colours and marked with numbers.
According to details released by Spanish authorities, the cocaine was discovered in two shipping containers that departed from Ghana’s Tema Port on August 2, 2026, and arrived at the Port of Valencia 20 days later.
The containers attracted the attention of a joint team from Spain’s Guardia Civil and the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency after investigators suspected they were being used to transport illegal drugs.
A search uncovered the modified wooden crates, with officers finding several packages containing a white substance inside the hidden compartments. Laboratory tests subsequently confirmed that the substance was cocaine.
Rather than immediately seizing the entire shipment, investigators removed the drugs, resealed the cargo and continued monitoring the containers in an attempt to identify those expecting to receive them.
The surveillance operation eventually led officers to two refrigerated trucks that arrived to collect the containers.
Investigators followed the vehicles to a warehouse at the La Juaida industrial estate in Almería, where two men were arrested while the cargo was being unloaded.
The suspects are believed to be the importer of the cocaine and the individual responsible for supervising the unloading operation.
Although the interception took place in August, Spanish authorities released details of the operation on November 11, 2026.
The seizure has brought renewed attention to Ghana’s Tema Port because the containers carrying the drugs began their journey from the country’s main seaport.
However, the information released by Spanish authorities does not establish where the cocaine was concealed in the crates or whether it was loaded in Ghana or introduced into the shipment at another location.
There is also no confirmed information indicating whether any Ghanaian nationals are connected to the operation or whether Ghanaian security agencies assisted Spanish investigators.
The latest interception adds to several international drug seizures involving shipments or travellers linked to Ghana.
In a separate incident, Lebanese customs officials reportedly seized 46.7 kilogrammes of cocaine at Beirut Airport from a Syrian passenger who had travelled from Accra.
French customs officials also reportedly intercepted nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine concealed in a container carrying plastic waste that had departed from Ghana.
In another case, police in Tema seized 866 parcels of suspected cocaine hidden in sacks of gari at a warehouse within the Tema Harbour enclave.
The latest Spanish operation adds to concerns surrounding international drug trafficking routes involving cargo connected to Ghana, although the circumstances surrounding the concealment of the cocaine in this particular shipment remain unclear.
See the video below:
