Smugglers go bananas for €60m cocaine haul
Police have seized €60 million worth of cocaine stashed among Caribbean bananas bound for the Italian market.
The 283kg of pure cocaine was found in a container in the north-eastern port of Genoa, news website AGI reported on Wednesday.
The haul had been unloaded from a ship exporting bananas from the Dominican Republic and concealed behind a panel welded into the side of the container.
Police became suspicious after spotting the shipment’s custom documents, AGI said. Not only were the ‘bananas’ sent by a Dominican exporter unknown to the port, but the fruit was supposedly bound for the Marche region without naming the importer.
The police sweep was directed by the anti-mafia prosecutor of Rome, working with the police and prosecutor of Genoa.
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The 283kg of pure cocaine was found in a container in the north-eastern port of Genoa, news website AGI reported on Wednesday.
The haul had been unloaded from a ship exporting bananas from the Dominican Republic and concealed behind a panel welded into the side of the container.
Police became suspicious after spotting the shipment’s custom documents, AGI said. Not only were the ‘bananas’ sent by a Dominican exporter unknown to the port, but the fruit was supposedly bound for the Marche region without naming the importer.
The police sweep was directed by the anti-mafia prosecutor of Rome, working with the police and prosecutor of Genoa.
Don't miss a story about Italy - Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
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