Featured Image Credit: Newsflash
Topics: World News, Drugs, Crime
Ali Condon
Anti-drug authorities in Peru have seized over 50 one-kilo packages of cocaine marked with the Nazi swastika and branded with the word 'Hitler'.
The packages, which were destined for Belgium, were intercepted in the port city of Paita, in north-western Peru.
Each brick of cocaine was adorned with a red, white and black Nazi swastika flag, and reportedly had the word 'Hitler' marked on the back of each swastika.
The cocaine stash, which weighed over 57 kg (125 lbs), was found inside of a shipping container that was carrying asparagus aboard a Liberian-flagged vessel called the SC Anisha R.
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Videos and photos from the Peruvian police's anti-drug unit show that the drugs had been hidden inside of a ventilation system of the container.
Police went on to search through more than 80 other containers onboard the vessel.
A statement from National Police of Peru (PNP) on Wednesday, May 24, obtained by Newsflash, read: "PNP personnel from the Decentralised Anti-Narcotics Department from the Port of Paita intercepted a container destined for the Republic of Belgium.
"They seized 50 brick-like packages, apparently cocaine alkaloids, weighing more than 57 kilogrammes [125.6 lbs]."
The Peruvian authorities estimate that the country produces approximately 100 tonnes of cocaine per year, with most of it being shipped to Europe by sea.
The country is the world's second-biggest coca leaf producer, according to United Nations, falling behind Colombia.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency says that the country is the second-largest producer of cocaine too.
The Peruvian authorities are investigating which cartel was responsible for the jarring shipment.
Police have not yet said if anyone was arrested.
This comes just weeks after Peruvian police seized 2.3 tonnes of cocaine destined for Turkey.
The drug stash, worth a whopping $20 million (£16.2 million), had been disguised as ceramic tiles packed inside wooden boxes.
According to a recent UN report, cocaine is currently being produced at a record-breaking level as demand increases post-pandemic.
"There has been a continuing growth in demand, with most regions showing steadily rising numbers of users over the past decade. Although these increases can be partly explained by population growth, there is also a rising prevalence of cocaine use," the report read.
But, to match that, drug seizures by authorities are also on the rise - and much quicker than production rates.
In terms of transportation, the UN's research found that cocaine is more likely to be moved by international mail services, after Covid restrictions hindered drug mules.
Transport by fisher and merchant vessels, and even submarines, is also on the up and up.