Police in Bilbao, Spain, took seven people into custody after discovering more than 800 kilos of cocaine, 4.5 kilos of hashish, and 15,000 ecstasy tablets hidden in a fake Dakar Rally truck. Police say the elaborate scheme was meant to supply drug dealers on the Spanish island Ibiza.
About €47,000 in cash, and two guns were also found in the truck.
According to published reports, police claim the truck was shipped from Bilbao, Spain, to Argentina. At a farm roughly 100 kilometers from Buenos Aires, smugglers loaded cocaine in several false bottoms on the truck.
"The vehicle had been totally transformed to adapt it to its supposed participation in the competition as a support truck, with publicity and logos of the event painted on its side," a statement from police said.
"The drug trafficking ring even provided the vehicle with all the necessary technical and logistical material, including the official uniform of the competition."
The Dakar Rally took place between January 1 and 16 in Argentina and Chile. Following the race, the truck was sent back to Spain. It arrived at port in Bilbao on Friday, when it was promptly seized by investigators.
