Lost luggage hides massive drugs haul

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, November 9 2009

POLICE in Santa Cruz de Tenerife were surprised when a suitcase left in the back of a taxi was found to contain over nine kilos of suspected hard drugs.

by James Tweedie

The taxi was hired at about 9pm on the night of Sunday November 8 in Plaza de España by a woman who the driver described as "foreign" and about 20 years of age.

She paid the driver to deliver a suitcase to an address in Santa Cruz, but did not accompany him.

The driver did as he was asked, but when no-one appeared to collect the bag after one hour he handed it to the local police headquarters in Avenida Tres de Mayo.

When an officer examined it to try to determine the owner's identity, he found four balls of a powdery substance which appeared to be narcotics.

Despite being almost empty the bag was suspiciously heavy, prompting a closer examination which revealed a double bottom containing a plastic bag packed with 9.2 kilos of a greyish powder.

The case was referred to the national police's special narcotics service.

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