ST. PETERSBURG, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday that it had seized about 500 kg of cocaine concealed inside frozen tuna imported from Ecuador at the port of St. Petersburg.
The cocaine was discovered in a cargo container carrying legally imported frozen whole tuna at a container terminal in the port, said the FSB.
It said the shipment route is part of a trafficking net used to smuggle large quantities of cocaine from Latin America into Russia for distribution.
A Russian citizen suspected of organizing international smuggling has been detained, according to the service.
While searching the suspect's residence, authorities also seized digital storage devices containing cryptocurrency wallets with electronic assets of about 613,000 U.S. dollars, 13 luxury watches valued at more than 1.3 million dollars, and five luxury vehicles worth at least 1.65 million dollars.
Investigators have opened a criminal case over the attempted trafficking of narcotic drugs on an especially large scale. ■
