Customs officers in the Dutch port of Vlissingen in Zeeland found nearly 1.3 tons of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas coming from Ecuador, website Dutch News reports.
Hidden in Container
The discovery was made during a routine control earlier this week, the public prosecution department said to the outlet. The drugs, which are worth over $100 million, were hidden in two containers destined to Vlissingen from Ecuador via Antwerp.
The bananas were meant for a company in Vlissingen but police have ruled out any involvement on its part. According to the publication, the drugs have been destroyed.
New Epicenter
In September last year, European policing organization Europol published a report saying the increased use of shipping containers to conceal drugs has made the high volume ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg the new epicenter of the European cocaine market.
While Antwerp is the biggest arrival port for cocaine, most of the drug is “likely intended for organizations operating out of the Netherlands, from where the cocaine is further distributed to other European destinations,” Europol said.
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Source: Freshfruitportal
