Guatemalan police have uncovered cocaine inside a device called a "parasite" attached to the hull of a Singapore-flag MR tanker.
The discovery was made this week on board the 51,000-dwt MTM Potomac (built 2004), which is operated by US-based MTM Trading.
The anti-narcotics unit carried out the inspection in Puerto Santo Tomas de Castilla after the ship arrived from Santa Marta in Colombia.
They are reported to have recovered 56 packages from the cylindrical metal container, with each package said to contain 1 kg of cocaine.
The National Civil Police also confirmed that the metal tube also contained a GPS transmitter, which would enable the smugglers to track the shipment.
The Singapore office of MTM Ship Management Pte has been contacted for comment.
This is the second time in less than six months that police have discovered cocaine being smuggled through Guatemala's ports in a similar fashion.
In late April 2020, TradeWinds reported that the 31,800-dwt UBC Saiki (built 2002), which is controlled by German owner Hartmann's Cyprus-based management company Intership Navigation, was caught up in a similar operation in Puerto Santo Tomas.
Navy divers reportedly found a similar "parasite" attached to the hull containing 30 packages of cocaine.
Cartels using merchant vessels for drug smuggling has been a constant problem for owners in recent years and this incident shows that the coronavirus pandemic has not changed the gangs' business model.
