Germany seizes tons of cocaine and suspects are arrested in Spain

BERLIN — German authorities said Wednesday they have seized more than 8 metric tons of cocaine from a container that was supposed to be carrying cacao beans, and two suspects were later arrested in Spain.

German customs investigators put the street value of the cocaine seized in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven at about 500 million euros ($582 million).

The drugs were seized on Feb. 9. The arrests were made in El Ejido, in the Spanish province of Almería, on May 14.

The container had arrived from West Africa and was destined for Spain, investigators said in a statement. Instead of cacao beans, officials found more than 400 packets wrapped in black foil, each containing about 20 blocks of compressed cocaine.

The shipment was destroyed in Germany before the container was sent on its way to Barcelona. Investigators identified two suspected organizers of the shipment and arrested them during a handover of the container.

One of them, the manager of an import company, has been linked to a previous cocaine shipment by Spanish customs, the statement said. The pair could face prison sentences in Spain if tried and convicted.