6 detained as one of biggest hauls of narcotics ever seized in Latvia

Six suspects were detained earlier this month as Latvian authorities seized one of the biggest hauls of narcotics yet, representatives of the Latvian State Revenue Service said.

Officers of the Latvian tax authority seized 1,115 kg of hashish worth an estimated street value of 8-12 million euros (about 8.96-13.44 million U.S. dollars), said Kaspars Cernavskis, the revenue service's vice director for criminal enforcement.

In his words, the narcotics were discovered in a citrus fruit cargo at a storehouse in Riga.

Investigators believe that the illegal cargo was meant for Russia and that Latvia was used as a transit country, although it is possible that a portion of the drugs could remain in Latvia.

The trafficking of the drugs from North Africa to Europe was organised by an international group of criminals with roots in North Africa and Spain. Some of the detained suspects have previous criminal records, the Latvian tax authority said.