Police found 58 kilograms (127 pounds) of cocaine emblazoned with the Nazi flag and printed with the name of German war leader Hitler.
Peru’s counter-narcotics police have seized 58 kg of cocaine bound for Belgium in packages bearing Nazi symbols and printed with the name of German war leader Hitler.
The drugs were hidden in 50 brick-sized packages, each with a Nazi swastika, according to photos released by police on Thursday. Some packages were open with the word “Hitler” written in high relief on the compressed white powder.
The drugs were found in a Liberian-flagged boat in the small northern port town of Paita, close to the border with Ecuador. The ship originated from Guayaquil, the Ecuadorian port city known as a major launching point for South American drugs bound for the United States and Europe.
Police would not say whether anyone has been arrested.
The anti-drug directorate of the Peruvian police showed videos and photos to the Associated Press news agency that showed that the drugs were hidden in the ventilation system of a container. Police continued to search the more than 80 containers on the ship.
Drugs wrapped in Nazi badges is a new development for Peruvian police who have previously reported finding cocaine in brick-shaped packages with different and strange symbols.
Peru is the second largest producer of cocaine in the world after neighboring Colombia, with an annual production of about 400 tons, according to official figures.
The country is also one of the largest producers of coca leaf, a product that is legal if used to chew or make an infusion, but is also the primary material in cocaine.