According to a statement from the PJ, the approximately 117kg of cocaine had been transported to Portugal by sea, from a port in a Latin American country in two containers of beans for human consumption, imported by a commercial company headquartered in the Lisbon region.

In one of the containers the cocaine was concealed inside some of the bags where the beans were stored, while in the other the cocaine was concealed in the structure of some of the pallets, on which the bean bags were stacked, inside the container, which made it "unusually difficult and laborious to detect".

The four detainees, all of foreign nationality and aged between 44 and 59, were subjected to the first judicial interrogation, and were subjected to the coercion measure of preventive detention. The investigation continues, according to the PJ, which in this operation, called "Axipeto", had the collaboration of the Tax Authority.