VIDEO. Spain: the boat that transported cows hid 4,500 kg of cocaine

The cows were hiding tons of cocaine.

A freighter transporting cattle from Latin America to countries in the Middle East had been closely watched for more than two years: it had already been "checked and searched, but no drugs could be found inside inside," police said.

A "naval aviation" device finally made it possible on Tuesday, January 24 to get their hands on the cocaine, hidden in a silo supposed to be used to feed livestock, she adds.

The operation, which mobilized among others the American anti-drug agency DEA, the international operational center for the analysis of maritime intelligence for narcotics (MAOC-N), the Togolese authorities and the Spanish police, made it possible to arrest the 28 crew members, of nine different nationalities.

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The "Orión V" freighter, which was flying the Togolese flag, had the same dimensions as another Togolese freighter intercepted in mid-January in the same area, 62 miles south-east of the Canary Islands, the "Blume", on which the same amount of cocaine was found.

A total of nine tonnes of drugs were therefore seized in January, the police said in a statement.

Spain's close ties to South America, where

originates , make it one of the main gateways for drugs into Europe.