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Container carried aboard the Grande Nigeria with 500 kilos of cocaine seized in Antwerp

A container with 500 kilos of cocaine was seized in the port of Antwerp, which had been scanned in the port of Montevideo. However, the 'Grande Nigeria', that transported it and stayed in port from Feb 16-19, 2025, had called at several other ports before arriving at Antwerp, where the drug was finally found. According to the Attorney General's Office the container could have been filled with the drugs in other ports, since it was proven that the seals were violated. The scanned images at the port of Montevideo confirmed that the illicit substance was not in the container at the time of its departure. In addition, the seal with which it left Montevideo was not the same one with which it arrived in Anwerp, although it did remain intact when passing through Zárate, according to Argentine Customs. Three other seals were found inside the container in a plastic bag, one of which had been reported missing by the MSC shipping company in 2023. The ship already had a history of being used to transport illicit substances, so it was not ruled out that the crew was involved.

More than 200 kilos of drugs found

In the morning of Feb 11, 2022, the National Customs Directorate and the Navy found more than 200 kilos of drugs inside two vehicles aboard the "Grande Nigeria", which had arrived at the port of Montevideo from Paranagua. The ship was transporting containers and vehicles and upon arrival at the port of Montevideo it was inspected, an operation in which the drug shipment was found. The Montevideo Narcotics Attorney, Mónica Ferrero, the Minister of National Defense, Javier García, and the National Naval Prefect, Rear Admiral José Luis Elizondo, were present at the scene.

Cocaine found on Grimaldi ship

120 kilograms of cocaine packed in four bags were aboard the ventilation system of the 'Grande Nigeria' on Jan 28, 2020. The drugs were hidden in the ventilation system compartments of the vessel, A team from the Mixed Container and Vessel Control Unit (Umcc) of the Customs Subdivision of the Dakar Autonomous Port, assisted by personnel of the Scientific Police and the Central Office for the Suppression of Illicit Traffic narcotics (Ocrtis), investigated and searched the ship. The packaging, the brands and identifiers on the newly seized wafers were different from those on the wafers that were the subject of different seizures in 2019. The crew members were being questioned and the investigation followed its course in connection with the Prosecutor's office. Custom officers were tipped off on drugs contraband by an informant. The ship had arrived at Dakar of Jan 24, coming from Brazil. It already had been involved in two cases of drug trafficking, the latest having been also in Dakar in June 2019, another one was in Santos in 2018.