The Spanish authorities arrested 10 guests sailing aboard the cruise ship MSC Seaside for attempting to smuggle 54 kilos of cocaine. The smugglers were arrested while disembarking the ship at the port of Valencia last Sunday, following a Transatlantic cruise from Brazil. 

Police said that the drug bust, worth more than three million euros, was found thanks to the K-9 narcotics detection dog. The cocaine with 70% purity was hidden inside double bottom in several suitcases offloaded at the port and ready for customs inspection.

The dog pointed to 15 suitcases that were later thoroughly inspected by customs officials who found the cocaine. Police and Customs officers identified the owners of the luggage, which led to arrest of four men and six women, all of them Brazilian nationals.

Trying to go unnoticed, the smugglers traveled as couples pretending to be on vacation. The smugglers are believed to be part of two different criminal groups, both choosing the same way of smuggling drugs destined for the markets in Spain and Portugal.

The first group was arrested with 20 kilos of cocaine and the second group with 34 kilos. The drug was distributed in suitcases, each with around 3,5 kilos of the narcotic.