Colombian Police have discovered over 20,000 coconuts filled with liquid cocaine in a port that were set to be shipped to Europe a few hours later.
The 504 canvas bags containing thousands of the fruit, which had allegedly been injected with liquid cocaine, were seized in the port city of Cartagena, the capital of the Bolivar department, which looks out onto the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia.
Images of the bust show the huge number of coconuts laid out in the port for all to see. It is currently unclear how the authorities uncovered the illegal shipment.
(Fiscalia Colombia/Newsflash )
The shipment of drugs was reportedly destined for the port city of Genoa, which is located in the north-western Italian region of Liguria.
The Colombian Attorney General’s Office shared images of the bust on social media and said: “The discovery was achieved thanks to the investigative actions carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office, through the Specialised Directorate against Drug Trafficking, and in a coordinated effort along with the Anti-Narcotics Directorate of the Colombian Police.”
(Fiscalia Colombia/Newsflash )
The authorities quickly determined that the water typically found inside coconuts had been replaced with liquid cocaine, so they sent the 19,780 fruits to a laboratory to be analysed.
The Colombian authorities are reportedly in touch with the Italian authorities, and they are now liaising with each other over their investigations into the criminal network behind the cocaine smuggling ring.
No arrests in connection with the shipment had been announced by either the Colombian or the Italian authorities at the time of writing.
(Fiscalia Colombia/Newsflash )
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: William McGee, Agency: Newsflash
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