Donated Boxes of Bananas Contain Nearly $18M in Cocaine

$18 million worth of cocaine seized in bananas shipment.

When two pallets of bananas were donated to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice because they were too ripe, two sergeants unloading the boxes discovered a lot more than just some overripe fruit. 

According to a Facebook post from the Texas Department of Justice, the sergeants were unloading the donated boxes when one of the officers noticed one of them didn't seem quite right. 

They (officers) snipped the straps, pulled free the box, and opened it up. Inside, under a bundle of bananas, he found another bundle! Inside that? What appeared to be a white powdery substance. They immediately notified port authorities and awaited their instruction.

When agents from U.S. Customs and the DEA responded, they emptied the 45 boxes of bananas, uncovering 540 packages of cocaine, worth an estimated $18 million. 

DEA Special Agent Wendell Campbell told ABC 13 that the methods used by cartels for drug-trafficking  are always changing. 

"Our correctional officers and supervisory correctional officers are trained to notice things out of place that don't seem quite right," said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman, Jeremy Desel. "They're doing their jobs, not just on our units, but somewhere else, and they found something good today."

Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and Customs and Border Protection are continuing their investigation into the source of the cocaine, the agency added.

Photo: Texas Department of Criminal Justice 


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