It was the other significant find that pushed Guyana to the top of breaking news in the first year of the pandemic. One cold, grey day in October, 2020, even the most experienced Belgian officers ended up astonished by what they discovered behind the rusting mass of scrap metal in a suspicious shipping container, newly arrived at the sprawling Antwerp port.
Joined in sections, a massive steel box loomed, its sides welded shut. It fitted so snugly into the 20 foot-long freight crate, the only narrow space remained at the top, jammed with a jumble of detritus. Inside the receptacle were hundreds of packages stacked to the ceiling. Big blue plastic bales swathed in tape brought the total estimated find to a record 11.5 tons, equivalent to over 25 000 pounds or 11,500 kilograms (kg) of high quality cocaine.
