Natal Port – Police seize cocaine again

Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) made its third drug bust this year at the Port of Natal on Monday afternoon. This time, a total of 1.038 tons of cocaine was found hidden inside a mango container bound for the Port of Rotterdam.

A Polícia Federal apreendeu uma tonelada de cocaína no porto de Natal. A droga foi encontrada em um carregamento de mangas. #BandJornalismo pic.twitter.com/9QgLZybPpY

— Jornal da Band (@jornaldaband) May 14, 2019

According to a tweet from Rio Grande do Norte Port Authority (Codern), the narcotics were most likely loaded outside the port area.

Ressalta-se que o entorpecente foi detectado acondicionado no container, levando a crer que não foi inserido dentro da área portuária.

Além da PF, a CODERN facilita a operação integrada com a Receita Federal, Anvisa, Capitania dos Portos e Ministério da Agricultura.

Continua…

— Companhia Docas RN (@CODERN) May 14, 2019

Between January and May this year, the police have seized over 4 tons of cocaine at the port.

The Port of Natal’s sole operator, CMA CGM, suspended operations following the discovery of 3.3 tons of cocaine hidden in CMA CGM containers on February 12 and 13. However, the French container liner restarted its service at Natal Port after Codern created a “detailed action plan.” The new drug bust casts doubt on the organ’s ability to meet the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code standards this year.

The following Dataliner graph shows Natal Port’s container throughput from January 2015 through March 2019 when CMA CGM suspended operations at the port.

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