Pretend Dakar lorry seized in Bilbao with 800 kilos of cocaine

Spain''s national police force seized 814 kilos of cocaine from a lorry that had been specially customized as part of a ploy feigning participation in the recent Paris-Dakar rally, police and civil guard chiefs confirmed on Tuesday.

The vehicle had undergone a complete transformation after being adapted for its supposed participation as a support truck for the competition - which started out this year from Argentina - and was covered with adverts and logos connected with the event.

During the police operation, with which Federal Police in Argentina were also involved, officers in Bilbao arrested two members of the drugs organization, charged with picking up the lorry in the port, while in Barcelona and Ibiza police arrested another five members of a major drugs ring that has been importing cocaine into the popular clubbers'' island, the cargo''s intended destination.

The truck was shipped from Bilbao to Buenos Aires at the beginning of January when the rally began. The cocaine was hidden in false paneling inside the vehicle in a location about 100 kilometers from the Argentine capital, later rejoining and continually following the route of the rally though without actually participating.

After the end of the rally, the head of the drugs organization waited until the lorry had made it past Spanish customs and arrived in Bilbao where, on April 9th, the rally was due to conclude its final stage. It was in the Basque city that police intercepted the vehicle, seizing the cargo and arresting the two members on board.