The drugs were found on Friday. In accordance with the procedures, the Jawor’s captain notified the shipping agent of the find, who in turn notified Brazilian law enforcement, Krzysztof Gogol, spokesman for the Polish Steamship Company (PŻM) told the Polish state news agency PAP on Sunday.

The police opened an investigation into the find. None of the crew members have been taken into custody. They are to be interviewed by the police on Monday.

Jawor arrived in Brazil from the Dutch port of Rotterdam and was to pick up a cargo of cereals to be delivered to Cartagena in Spain.

According to PŻM’s spokesman, Brazilian ports are stops on the drug smuggling route from South America to Europe.

“And mercantile ships are increasingly more often used by drug cartels as means of transporting drugs,” Gogol said.

The spokesman said that the narcotics were planted on the board of Jawor at night when the ship was waiting to enter the São Luís harbor at its anchorage, likely using a small vessel to approach the ship and board it when the crew was asleep.

Once notified, the police arrived on board of the ship using a helicopter. They identified several packages of what is most likely cocaine. Each weighed 40 kilograms and was wrapped in black foil.

The crew of M/S Jawor is made up of 20 sailors: Poles, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, and Romanians.

The crew’s families and Polish authorities have been notified of the situation. PŻM’s spokesman said that the company has also notified, among others, the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure.