SPAIN – When you think of a banana with all the fixings, you’re more likely to think of a banana split than what authorities recently uncovered at the port of Algeciras, Spain, earlier this month. Officials found 1,984 pounds of cocaine inside a shipping container filled with bananas.
The bust went down after Spanish authorities became aware of an international crime ring which used produce shipping containers to move their product from South America to Europe. Business Insider reported that the ring covered its illicit activity using a legitimate Sevilla-based fruit company.
Working with other authority agencies across the globe officials, authorities tracked down the banana shipment after it was shipped to a warehouse in Sevilla from its origin point of Colombia.
Although authorities did not state how much the drugs were valued at, three people were arrested as part of the seizures, and the ringleader was identified. Police and custom’s officials stated that this bust was in line with an increase of shipping containers being used to peddle drugs.
"Concealing the drugs within shipments of perishable goods is a common tactic as there are procedures to allow these to pass through ports more quickly," the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction stated in its 206 report.
What kind of hijinks will fresh fruit and vegetables find themselves in next? If the seedy crime lords around the globe continue on their latest trend, AndNowUKnow will have more busts and shipping innovations in your inbox soon.
