Drug-addicted dogs help find cocaine towed on Korean ships and operate with the help of the FBI
South Korea found and caught two tons of cocaine hidden vessels, marking the country’s largest drug bust to date, authorities told AFP on Friday.
The South Korean Coast Guard said they found two tons of pure cocaine on a Norwegian flag ship that departed from Mexico and stopped in Ecuador, Panama and China.
The operation was initiated after South Korean authorities received intelligence from U.S. agencies (FBI and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI)) that carried hidden narcotics.
The South Korean Coast Guard said the South Korean Coast Guard and the South Korean Customs Service coordinated a large-scale search operation, “a joint search team of 90 officers and two drug-taking dog units.”
After the ship was docked at the port on the east coast of South Korea, the team immediately boarded the ship and “discovered a hidden compartment behind the ship’s computer room.”
/ap
Authorities say the drugs were filled with 56 sacks, each with about 30 to 40 kilograms (about 66 to 88 pounds), giving the total traction of about 2 tons.
“Preliminary field tests confirmed that the substances were cocaine,” the South Korean Coast Guard official told AFP.
“The epilepsy seizure is the largest in history, about 404 kilograms of methamphetamine than the previous record,” a South Korean customs service official told AFP.
They added that the estimated street value is $697 million.
Authorities have formed a joint investigation team to ask the captain and crew about the origin and destination of the drugs, as well as the routes used to transport them.
Investigators also said they are looking at potential links with international drug cartels and will expand their collaboration with the FBI and HSI.
South Korea has long ranked lower among countries with lower drug use worldwide due to its strict laws and strong social stigma.
The action follows other major cocaine seizures around the world this year, as well as in the open sea. Just last week, Portuguese police said the recent police recently seized nearly 6.5 tons of cocaine from half a set of cocaine on board, or the so-called “Narco Sub” intercepted the Azores while on the Iberian Peninsula.
February, Polish divers More than 220 pounds of cocaine were found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. In the same month, a semi-familiar container More than 5,000 pounds of cocaine Intercepted on the Columbia Pacific Coast.
