Two men have been arrested in connection with the consignment after investigators tracked the shipment from the Port of Valencia to a warehouse in Almería.
The cocaine was concealed in two containers of coconuts loaded at the Tema Port on August 2.
The containers arrived at Valencia 20 days later, where customs officials and the Guardia Civil selected them for inspection after identifying them as high-risk consignments for drug trafficking.
A search uncovered packages of cocaine hidden beneath false bottoms fitted into the wooden crates used to transport the coconuts. Laboratory tests subsequently confirmed the substance was cocaine.
Investigators removed the drugs but left the containers sealed to monitor the shipment and identify the intended recipients.
Surveillance led officers to two refrigerated lorries that arrived to collect the containers. The vehicles were followed to a warehouse at the La Juaida industrial estate in Almería.
The two suspects were arrested while the cargo was being unloaded. They were identified as the suspected importer of the drugs and the person responsible for supervising the unloading.
Spanish authorities announced details of the seizure on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
Another major seizure linked to Ghana
The latest interception adds to a growing number of overseas drug seizures involving consignments shipped from Ghana.
In September 2026, French customs seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine concealed in a container carrying plastic waste from Ghana at the Port of Dunkirk. The consignment was valued at approximately €225 million, equivalent to about US$261 million.
The seizure triggered investigations in Ghana, with the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) announcing the arrest of three suspects. Several others were subsequently arrested and brought before the courts over their alleged involvement in the shipment.
The case drew attention to the handling of export containers at the Tema Port, following reports that investigations had raised questions about irregularities detected in scan images before the containers were cleared for shipment.
In a separate incident, a Syrian national was arrested at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on October 31, 2026, after arriving from Accra with about 40 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine concealed in two pieces of luggage.
NACOC confirmed the arrest and said it was working with Lebanese authorities to identify and apprehend alleged accomplices in Ghana.
The latest cases follow several major interceptions in Europe in 2025.
In November that year, Belgian authorities seized 2,829 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in a shipment of cassava flour from Tema to Antwerp. A further 1,158 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine from Ghana was intercepted at the same port in December.
Earlier, in June 2025, Dutch customs seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a timber consignment from Tema at the Port of Amsterdam. The seizure was described at the time as the largest in the port’s history.
The interceptions have not been limited to cocaine. In June 2026, Australian authorities announced the seizure of 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed in a charcoal shipment from Ghana.
Ghana’s growing international exposure
The series of interceptions has raised concerns about the use of Ghanaian ports and legitimate export consignments by international drug trafficking networks.
Figures from Belgian customs, reported by JoyNews Research in September 2026, ranked Ghana as the fifth-largest country of origin for cocaine seized at the Port of Antwerp in 2025. Ghana was the only African country among the five leading countries on the list.
The classification refers to the country from which the consignments were shipped, rather than where the cocaine was produced. The report indicated that the drugs were believed to have originated from South America before being concealed in legitimate export cargo.
A separate JoyNews tally published in September recorded 28 narcotics-related cases linked to Ghana since January 2025, including 11 involving cocaine. The seizures with published weights amounted to approximately 15.8 tonnes.
The September seizure in France also prompted President John Dramani Mahama to convene a meeting of security chiefs and direct an inter-agency task force to review the country’s systems for detecting narcotics at ports and borders.
The recurring interceptions have intensified scrutiny of cargo inspection procedures, intelligence-sharing and coordination among agencies responsible for securing Ghana’s ports and international supply chains.
