Spanish authorities have seized 2.6 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a shipment of coconuts from Ghana. Two men were arrested after investigators followed the shipment from Valencia’s port to a warehouse in Almería.
The seizure is the latest major international drug interception involving cargo sent from Ghana, raising renewed concerns about the use of the country’s ports to move narcotics into markets around the world.
The operation was announced in a press release on November 11, 2026, by Spain’s Tax Agency and Civil Guard. It also resulted in the arrest of two people in Viator, in the province of Almería, for their alleged roles in importing and unloading the shipment.
The cocaine was hidden in two containers of coconuts loaded at Tema Port on August 2 and sent to Spain. The containers arrived at the port of Valencia 20 days later.
Spanish customs officials and the Guardia Civil chose the containers for inspection after deciding they were at high risk of being used for drug trafficking.
Officers found packages of cocaine beneath false bottoms installed in the wooden crates carrying the coconuts. Tests later confirmed that the white powder was cocaine.
Instead of seizing the whole shipment right away, investigators removed the drugs and kept the containers sealed. This allowed them to watch the shipment and identify the people who would collect it.
Officers then spotted two refrigerated lorries arriving to pick up the containers. They followed the vehicles to a warehouse at the La Juaida industrial estate in Almería, where the two men were arrested while the cargo was being unloaded.
The suspects were identified as the alleged importer of the drugs and the person in charge of overseeing the unloading.
Spanish authorities announced details of the operation on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
The latest interception adds to a growing number of major drug seizures overseas involving shipments traced to Ghana. Several of these cases have raised concerns about the country’s export procedures and cargo-screening systems.
In September 2026, French customs officers seized nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a container of plastic waste from Ghana at the port of Dunkirk.
The drugs were estimated to be worth about €225 million, or roughly US$261 million.
The seizure led to investigations in Ghana. The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) announced that three suspects had been arrested. Several more people were later arrested and brought before the courts over their alleged roles in the shipment.
The case also brought attention to the processing of export containers at Tema Port. Reports said investigators had questioned irregularities found in scan images before the containers were approved for shipment.
In a separate case, a Syrian national was arrested at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport on October 31, 2026. The person had arrived from Accra with about 40 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine hidden in two pieces of luggage.
NACOC confirmed the arrest and said it was cooperating with Lebanese authorities to identify and arrest alleged accomplices in Ghana.
These recent cases follow several major drug interceptions in Europe in 2025 involving shipments from Tema.
In November 2025, Belgian authorities found 2,829 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden in a shipment of cassava flour sent from Tema to Antwerp. In December, a further 1,158 kilogrammes of suspected cocaine from Ghana was seized at the same port.
Earlier, in June 2025, Dutch customs officers seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine concealed in a timber shipment from Tema at the Port of Amsterdam. At the time, officials described it as the biggest seizure in the port’s history.
Concerns about trafficking have spread beyond cocaine. In June 2026, Australian authorities announced that they had found 320 kilogrammes of methamphetamine hidden in a charcoal shipment from Ghana.
These interceptions have brought growing attention to Ghana’s export routes, especially the screening and monitoring of containers leaving the country’s ports.