The police shared photographs demonstrating that the drugs were hidden within the air circulation system of a shipping container that, according to The Associated Press, was carrying asparagus and was loaded onto the Liberian-flagged ship "MSC ANISHA R." The vessel had earlier anchored at the nearby port of Guayaquil, Ecuador.
The anti-narcotics officers are currently inspecting over 80 containers aboard the ship.
The Peruvian authorities have reported finding cocaine in various shapes and sizes with different symbols in the past. However, the discovery of cocaine labeled with the Nazi German flag is unprecedented.
The authorities estimate that Peru produces around 100 tons of drugs per year, with most of it being shipped to Europe by sea or transported by small planes that carry the cocaine to Bolivia, en route to Atlantic ports.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) declared that coca bush cultivation and cocaine production reached record levels in 2019. However, the COVID-19 pandemic had a temporary impact on the industry in early 2020, with reports of disrupted production due to fuel shortages and drops in the price of coca leaves in Colombia and Peru.
EMCDDA analysis from 2022 has found an increase in the percentage of cocaine samples in Europe believed to be made using coca from Peru.
According to the United Nations, Peru ranks among the "top three producers of coca bush in the world," with over 62,500 hectares of land dedicated to its cultivation in 2011.
