Drug traffickers use Dakar Rally to transport drugs, almost pull it off

A carefully-prepared drug smuggling outfit almost pulled off quite a heist when they posed as a Dakar off-road racing support truck that was actually transporting a ton of cocaine, around 15,000 ecstacy tablets, and about 4.5 kilos of hashish.

The elaborate plan even involved using a support truck that came with sponsor logos and Dakar-spec uniforms for the drivers. "The vehicle had been totally transformed to adapt it to its supposed participation in the competition as a support truck, with publicity and logos of the event painted on its side," a police statement said.

"The drug trafficking ring even provided the vehicle with all the necessary technical and logistical material, including the official uniform of the competition."

If it wasn’t for a routine inspection done by the local police in Bilbao, Spain, the drug traffickers would have probably pulled the drug smuggling off in a rather unorthodox way. Now, if only they used that sort of intelligence to do something productive and legal, they would be all set.

Note: The photo used in this article is not the truck that was seized by police