Argentine police announced they have seized 1.6 tons of cocaine from a shipment of animal feed bound for Dubai and arrested 12 suspects.

This operation, carried out in the city of Rosario in the center of the country, highlights the role of Argentine ports in drug smuggling from South America internationally.

“The seized shipment of cocaine is worth about $60 million,” said Mariano Jovera, head of the federal police’s Dangerous Drugs Unit.

The arrests took place in different places across the country, and “they are all Argentines, and some of them are known drug dealers,” Jovera explained.

He added: “A group of firearms, sports cars and a large sum of money were seized, and the cocaine was hidden in bags of cornmeal that were about to be loaded into a container bound for Dubai.”

Police said the cocaine was likely produced in Colombia, the world’s largest drug producer.