Smugglers go bananas for €60m cocaine haul

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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