smuggling ... octopus ... cocaine ... ("NP")

[Erik T. Burns]

http://tinyurl.com/374dfp

Portugal finds 9.4 tonnes of cocaine in octopus cargo

Mon Jan 7, 2008 7:49am EST

LISBON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Portuguese police have seized 9.4 tonnes of
cocaine hidden in a octopus shipment from Venezuela as it entered the
port of Lisbon, authorities said on Monday.

The seizure, last month, led to the arrest of seven people including a
Colombian in Spain who was part of an international drug smuggling
ring, Portuguese police said in a statement.

The cocaine was frozen and mixed inside crates of octopus, police said.

The majority of cocaine that is smuggled to Europe comes through
Iberia on its way from South America.

About 70 tonnes of cocaine was seized by Spain and Portugal in 2006
out of about 100 tonnes seized in the whole of Europe. (Reporting by
Axel Bugge)