The alleged mastermind behind the largest cocaine seizure in Almeria’s history was not the heavily armed gang leader investigators were expecting.

Customs officials said in a press release that the alleged head honcho was a businessman in his 60s from Malaga, living in Aguadulce.

It said the suspect, who recently had a hip replacement, surrendered without resistance when officers moved in.

He is one of two men currently in custody following the discovery of more than eight tonnes of cocaine hidden inside a shipping container – the biggest haul ever intercepted in Almeria province.

The operation was carried out jointly by Spanish and German customs investigators and has exposed what authorities believe was a sophisticated international trafficking network stretching from West Africa to southern Spain.

Cocaine hidden among 18 tonnes of cocoa beans

The container began its journey in Sierra Leone before being shipped to the German port of Wilhelmshaven.

During a stopover there, German customs officers detected suspicious contents using X-ray scanners and discovered the drugs concealed among a cargo of cocoa beans.

Rather than immediately seizing the shipment, investigators launched a controlled delivery operation in coordination with Spain’s Tax Agency and anti-drug prosecutors.

The container eventually travelled through Barcelona before being transported by road to a warehouse in Pampanico, near El Ejido.

Inside were 400 sacks of cocoa beans weighing more than 18,000kg.

Investigators discovered that each sack concealed 20 compressed blocks of cocaine, amounting to a staggering eight tonnes of the drug.

Customs officers reportedly spent almost five hours unloading the shipment because the sacks had not been placed on pallets.

Authorities had already been monitoring the alleged organiser, who had previously appeared in investigations linked to another maritime cocaine shipment.

Investigators tracked him to a hotel meeting in Aguadulce, where he was allegedly arranging payment of transport costs linked to the container’s delivery.

Officers later moved in as the shipment was being unloaded at the warehouse.

According to reports, neither of the suspects attempted to flee or resist arrest.

The operation was coordinated by Investigating Court Number 2 in Estepona and involved customs officers from Barcelona, Malaga and Almeria, working alongside Germany’s Hanover Customs Investigation Office.

Authorities are now attempting to identify the intended recipients of the cocaine and have reportedly identified two possible buyers.

The seizure eclipses the previous record haul in Almeria, when 4,000kg of cocaine were discovered aboard a merchant vessel intercepted off the province’s coast in February 2007.

That operation led to the arrest of seven crew members, including five Greek nationals and two Italians.

Investigators believe the latest seizure represents one of the most significant blows dealt to international cocaine trafficking networks operating through southern Spain in recent years.