{"id":18025,"date":"2026-07-21T18:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=18025"},"modified":"2026-07-21T18:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:49:08","slug":"cocaine-worth-285-million-found-hidden-in-banana-shipment-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=18025","title":{"rendered":"Cocaine worth $285 million found hidden in banana shipment in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Italian police on Tuesday said they seized pure cocaine with an estimated street value of $286 million that was hidden inside containers of bananas at a port in northwest Italy. It marks the latest instance of the illicit drug being concealed in a shipment of the tropical fruit.<\/p>\n

Some 1,700 pounds of cocaine was concealed in a refrigerated container from Ecuador among dozens of pallets of bananas found at the port of Vado Ligure, police said in a statement. Authorities released a video showing officers pulling the alleged drugs from the banana shipment.<\/p>\n

Following a previous drug seizure at the same port, authorities have increased monitoring of Vado Ligure as a potential transit point for international trafficking.<\/p>\n

Investigators said the port’s role as a growing European trade hub also makes it an attractive target for criminal networks involved in illicit activities.<\/p>\n

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Italian police on Tuesday said they seized about 1,700 pounds of cocaine hidden inside containers of bananas at a port in northwest Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Guardia di Finanza<\/p>\n

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Police earlier this month seized 340 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of 120 million euros in the same port.<\/p>\n

Bananas frequently used to hide cocaine<\/h2>\n

Cocaine has been found inside shipments of bananas around the world. In March, three people were charged<\/span> in the United Kingdom after they allegedly attempted to traffic nearly $100 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of the fruit.<\/p>\n

Last August, Greek police said they seized nearly 600 pounds of cocaine<\/span> hidden inside a container of bananas imported from Ecuador.<\/p>\n

In July 2025, Russia said it seized 1,800 pounds of cocaine hidden under a shipment of bananas. Two months before that, employees at a Norwegian fruit distributor discovered a packet of cocaine in a box of bananas, alerting customs officials who found a\u00a0stash of 147 kilos.<\/p>\n

In December 2024, authorities in the Dominican Republic confiscated\u00a0nearly 9.5 tons of cocaine\u00a0from a banana shipment at the country’s most important seaport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In August 2024, customs agents seized more than\u00a0200 pounds of cocaine\u00a0at the port in Greece from a ship carrying the fruit. The month before that, police dogs in Ecuador helped find\u00a0more than six tons of cocaine\u00a0hidden in a banana shipment headed to Germany.<\/p>\n

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