Employees at supermarkets in the Czech Republic have found approximately 1,800 lbs of cocaine worth $83 million inside banana crates
According to an article by Eurweb
supermarket workers in the Czech capital city of Prague
and in the towns of Jicin and Rychnov nad Kneznou
reportedly discovered the suspicious blocks of white powder before alerting the authorities
who dispatched officers with canine units to investigate
The Czech police said in a statement on Friday
were found this afternoon by supermarket workers in Jicin
“Criminal investigators found that goods of the same batch were distributed to several other places in the Czech Republic
in cooperation with the [Customs Administration of the Czech Republic] and other entities
it is currently conducting inspections of these places and other actions.”
The Czech police are working with international counterparts to further their investigation
“Information about consignments is kept outside the territory of the Czech Republic
for this reason we will use the institute of international police and judicial cooperation,” it said
“The case was taken over by the National Drug Control Center
We will provide more information as soon as possible.”
The delivery is believed to have been sent to supermarkets by mistake and is thought to have originated in Colombia
It had transited via the German port of Hamburg
the largest port in Europe after Rotterdam in the Netherlands
The investigation into the shipment of drugs hidden inside banana crates is currently ongoing
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Czech police searching more stores on same delivery route while contacting overseas counterparts about shipment from Central America
Employees at a supermarket in the Czech Republic found 840kg of cocaine worth 2bn Czech crowns (£68m) inside boxes of bananas that were delivered to the store
which was sent to supermarkets in the towns of Jicin and Rychnov nad Kneznou in the northern region of the country
is believed to have been sent to the stores by mistake
which is estimated to be worth more in street value
arrived in moulded cocaine cubes on Friday
the head of the police anti-narcotics unit
said the cocaine is thought to have originated in Central America
Police are now working with counterparts in unspecified countries on the case while searching other stores in the country that have received boxes from the same shipment
the Czech police shared images of the seized cocaine and said “The information about the shipment leads outside the Czech Republic
therefore we will use international police and justice cooperation.”
View image in fullscreenMoulded cubs of cocaine delivered to a supermarket in the Czech Republic. Photograph: Czech PoliceIn 2015, 100kg of cocaine was discovered in a Czech supermarket in Prague and in 1999 Czech police seized 117kg of cocaine which had been packed among dry fruit in a warehouse north of the city.
Speaking after the extradition, Colombia’s president Iván Duque said David was “the most dangerous drug trafficker in the world” and compared him to the late former head of the Medellín drug cartel, Pablo Escobar. It is believed David was on the run for over a decade after corrupting state officials.
In a statement made in English, the anti-mafia investigators said the undercover operation “took another strong tackle to one of the most important groups of Colombian narcos”.
€1.8m in cash and vehicles believed to be used for trafficking were also seized.
International arrest warrants have now been issued for 38 people for drug trafficking in Bulgaria, Croatia, Colombia, Italy, the Netherlands and Slovenia.
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Supermarkets in the Czech Republic received an unexpected delivery of nearly €80 million worth of cocaine after it was sent to them by accident from drug smugglers
Police were called to supermarkets in the capital city of Prague as well as the towns of Jicin and Rychnov nad Kneznou after workers unpacking the deliveries spotted suspicious blocks packed amid bananas
Authorities dispatched dog units to investigate the crates, which are thought to have come from Colombia, and the boxes were found to contain 2,200lbs of cocaine
with a street value of nearly €80 million (£68m)
Images released by police in the central European country show numerous rectangular packages wrapped in what appears to be green plastic slotted in among the bananas
In a statement addressing the discovery on Twitter
Czech police said criminal investigators had discovered 'goods of the same batch were distributed to several other places in the Czech Republic'
in cooperation with the [customs administration of the Czech Republic] and other entities
it is currently conducting inspections of these places and other actions," the police continued
Czech police are now planning to work with international authorities to further their investigation into the bizarre banana delivery
saying: "Information about consignments is kept outside the territory of the Czech Republic
For this reason we will use the institute of international police and judicial cooperation
“The case was taken over by the National Drug Control Centre
The crates containing the cocaine are believed to have arrived in the German port of Hamburg before being sent to the Czech Republic
where it was distributed among various supermarkets
Discovering cocaine among supermarket produce is not a first for the Czech Republic
as in 2015 220lbs of cocaine was found in another supermarket in Prague
The latest incident comes as Italian police reported seizing 4.3 tonnes of cocaine worth nearly €250m (£214m) in street value
in the city of Trieste in the north-eastern region of Italy
The seizure marked one of the largest ever in Europe and came about as the result of a collaboration between Italian financial police, anti-mafia investigators and US Homeland Security, The Guardian reports
The bust is believed to have dealt a serious blow to Colombia’s largest drug cartel
whose alleged boss was extradited last month from Colombia to the US facing indictments in three federal courts
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Topics: Drugs, World News, Shopping, Food and Drink
Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group
She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University
Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news
commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe
before moving to the role of Editorial Lead
Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate