Colombian authorities have reported the successful bust of a cocaine shipment on a Hapag-Lloyd containership that was leaving the Port of Cartagena for the Dominican Republic.
On January 26, 2018, the crew of the Hapag-Lloyd Rotterdam Express alerted the Columbian coast guard and navy after finding ten stowaways on board while carrying out security protocols 12 nautical miles off Cartagena.
Rapid response teams were joined by military personnel in a Colombian Navy aircraft to escort the vessel, which was then boarded and taken under control by the security forces.
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An inspection of the containers on board the ship found 185 packages each with a kilogram of cocaine inside.
The authorities will question the 10 subjects, who were all wearing black when they were caught, to establish how they arrived on board and got past Colombian security.
