Cocaine is still being smuggled in banana containers; Greek sting shows
Officials arrested three members of a transnational crime group who were shipping a container to a port at the northern city of Thessaloniki, the Greek Police's Ministry of Citizen Protection said in an Aug. 8 news release.
Following a tip from the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency and a court-issued order, officials located and seized the cache containing the drug, police said. One of the three suspects was arrested in connection with the case after refusing to submit to a legal police check, and officers later confiscated a small amount of cocaine at his home.
On X, police shared video of officers dismantling the banana shipment of cocaine, showing multiple brick-sized packages of the drug slowly falling down.
Police did not identify the three men arrested but confirmed their ages and their alleged roles within the criminal organization, including:
A 47-year-old man who allegedly oversaw communication with the leadership members and coordinated the operational team.
A 32-year-old man was allegedly responsible for exporting and delivering quantities of the drug to other members of the organization.
A 40-year-old owner of a road freight transport company who allegedly provided space and security measures to help facilitate the export of the container from the shipment.
The three suspects were taken to face prosecution on Monday, Aug. 11. Police are seeking additional suspects who they say helped make the operation possible.
Banana shipments commonly used to ship cocaine
The failed Greek operation is not the first attempt to package cocaine inside banana cardboard boxes overseas.
In July, Russia's customs service said officials seized 1,800 pounds of cocaine hidden under banana shipment containers worth around $153 million, CBS News reported. Last December, Greek Police confiscated 205 pounds of cocaine at the Thessaloniki port after customs agents X-rayed a banana container.
Last year, officials in Paraguay confiscated more than 10 tons of cocaine worth nearly $500 million, seized from sugar and bananas in two South American drug busts. At least five people were arrested in connection with the trafficking cases in July 2024.
In February 2024, the UK's National Crime Agency seized 6.3 tons of cocaine worth over $570 million from a container at Southampton Port, about 80 miles southwest of London.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cocaine is still smuggled in banana containers, Greek sting shows
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