Trade Winds reports that a Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) container ship that was the subject of a false bomb threat was later found to be carrying smuggled cocaine.
The prosecutor’s office in Antwerp, Belgium, revealed that more than 2,400 kg of the drug was discovered in a container of cocoa on the 4,872 teu MSC Lorena (built in 2006) in the port, the newspaper claims.
mention that the ship was forced to dock in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, in late December after a bomb threat, but it turned out to be a false alarm, the NL Times reported.
An anonymous call to the police was made on December 22 when the ship was off the Dutch coast, says Trade Winds.
They also report that the MSC Lorena finally left Vlissingen after a week at anchor, after extensive investigations. He reported her arrival in Antwerp on December 29 to unload, and the drugs were found there. In parallel, the police arrested two men in the bomb hoax case, a 24-year-old from Delft and a 22-year-old from Hagenaar; suspected of threatening to commit a terrorist offence.
Finally, the Dutch media reported that the state wants to recover the cost of investigating the suspects.
They have contacted MSC for more information.
The MSC Lorena is currently sailing off West Africa, having left Togo bound for the Ivory Coast.
Gang Infiltration Denial
Last month, MSC denied that it had become a main drug trafficking conduit for gangs in the Balkans, it secures the line.
Bloomberg had claimed that the Balkans Cartel, one of Europe’s most notorious drug smuggling gangs, honed its scheme to smuggle cocaine onto MSC ships for a decade, forcibly recruiting its employees.
Key news also argued that MSC and the US government remain locked in a court battle over the $1 billion drug raid on the 11,562 teu MSC Gayane (2018) in 2019, which could see the Geneva-based transatlantic giant hit with $700 million fine.
MSC vehemently denied the allegations in a statement issued on Saturday.
“MSC strongly objects to the Bloomberg headline claim that the subversion of a small number of Montenegrin seafarers, in what remain very specific circumstances, amounts to the “company” being “infiltrated” by a drug cartel. ”, stated MSC.
Source: TradeWinds & Bloomberg
