Uruguay finds cocaine hidden in surfboards bound for Europe
Police have broken a drug ring that smuggled cocaine hidden in surfboards bound from South America to Europe, Uruguayan officials said on Tuesday.
Issued on: 14/06/2023 - 05:37
1 min
The capture of the narcotics came after cooperative efforts by anti-drug police in Uruguay, Spain, Portugal and Italy, the officials said.
So far, three Italian citizens have been arrested, two in Portugal and one in Italy, they said.
"Operation Iris is unprecedented in our country because of the scope and significance of international cooperation," National Police Director Jose Manuel Azambuya said in a conference in which authorities from the other countries participated via video link.
Sniffer dogs from an anti-drug unit in Uruguay signaled something suspicious in a package with the six surfboards on May 23, police said.
Cocaine was found in the boards.
More:
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20230614-uruguay-finds-cocaine-hidden-in-surfboards-bound-for-europe