International drugs ring smuggled cocaine in surfboards from South America to Europe https://t.co/Ey49nS3b0h
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 14, 2023
Uruguay Police uncovered an international drug ring smuggling cocaine from South America to Europe in hollowed out surfboards. Six boards, containing a total of 50 kilograms of cocaine, were seized and three Italian citizens were arrested, according to the BBC.
On May 23, Uruguayan police dogs singled out a package containing six surfboards. The officers found the boards to be “uncharacteristically heavy,” and passed them through a scanner. The police cut the boards open to find hollowed out compartments filled with cocaine.
Five boards were immediately seized, but one was allowed to continue on its way, in order to apprehend whoever received it. Two Italian nationals who came to pick it up in Portugal were promptly arrested. A third Italian citizen, who police say originally sent the drug-filled package, was detained in Italy. As CBS News reports, he’s awaiting extradition to stand trial in Uruguay.
The drug bust was carried out with help from counter-narcotics police in Spain, Portugal and Italy.
Uruguay has become an increasingly common place to ship drugs from South America to Europe, according to the BBC. Police think the Italian smugglers crossed into Uruguay from Brazil to post the surfboards, then left to Argentina afterwards.
