By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 17 May 2016 • 16:31
A HUGE stash of cocaine was found hidden inside synthetic bananas, in crates transported through the busy port of Algeciras.
Police and customs agents discovered 19 boxes of plastic bananas stuffed with the class A drug, after a long investigation took place looking into criminal gangs and the smuggling of drugs from South America into Europe.
The estimated street value of the drugs is around €17 million and the weight of the stash amounted to 171kg.
“During a check of a consignment in the Port of Algeciras, a pallet marked with a red ‘X’ was discovered by agents,” said a statement from Spain’s National Police.
“It contained 19 boxes, each holding 88 plastic bananas that looked like the real thing. Inside the false bananas was a total of 171kg of cocaine.”
In the ever-increasing creative ways to illegally smuggle drugs, the shipment originated from the Colombian town of Turbo, destined for Huelva, is the second recent attempt detected by Spanish authorities. In April, a shipment of furniture was discovered to be made entirely of cocaine paste.
Due to the close links with former colonies in Latin America, Spain is the preferred entry point for smugglers trying to gain entry into Europe from the South American continent.
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