Peru police seize cocaine packets with Nazi flag and Hitler’s name printed on the outside

Peru’s anti-narcotics police on Thursday seized 58 packages of one kilogram of cocaine with images of Nazi flags and the name “Hitler” in low relief. The drugs were found in the port of Paita on Peru’s North Pacific coast near its border with Ecuador.

According to a police report obtained by The Associated Press, the cocaine was hidden in a shipping container carrying asparagus on the Liberian-flagged vessel SC Inisha R, which was previously anchored in an Ecuadorian port. It said the shipment was destined for a port in Belgium.

Peru’s anti-narcotics directorate showed the AP videos and photos that revealed the drugs were hidden inside the shipping container’s ventilation system. Police searched more than 80 containers on board.

Peruvian authorities have previously reported finding cocaine in brick-sized packages with various and strange symbols, but never with one of the flags of Nazi Germany.

Officials in Peru estimate that the country produces about 100 tons of the drug each year, and much of it goes to Europe by sea, but also on small planes that transport cocaine to Bolivia via Atlantic ports. take away

Police have not said if anyone has been arrested.

Peruvian authorities seized 22 tons of cocaine in 2022.

Officials in Peru estimate that the country produces about 100 tons of the drug each year, and much of it is shipped to Europe by sea, but it also leaves the country on small planes that take it to Atlantic ports. Routes lead to Bolivia.

According to the United Nations, Peru is the world’s second largest grower of the coca leaf, and according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the world’s second largest producer of cocaine.

It is not unusual for smuggled drugs to include designed packaging. Last month, packages of cocaine worth more than $100,000 washed up on several Florida beaches, including one wrapped in packaging. Copy the channel logo..

In March, police in Italy found a large cache of drugs in packaging Embellished with photos of notorious mafia leaders – including the “Cosa Nostra” boss who was recently captured after 30 years on the run. That same month, a “narco sub” was intercepted in Colombia containing about 1,000 packages of cocaine, some of which appeared to be Labeled “Rocky”. And “LMM.”

AFP contributed to this report.