1.5 tons of cocaine found on banana cargo ship

Over 1.5 tons of cocaine have been discovered on a ship arriving from Ecuador to Saint Petersburg, Russia, the Federal Customs Service reported.

The cocaine was found hidden among a shipment of bananas by officers from the Federal Security Service and the Federal Customs Service. Authorities noted that this seizure represents the largest cocaine confiscation ever carried out by Russian customs.

The shipment arrived at the Saint Petersburg sea port on August 29 aboard the vessel Cool Emerald. It contained 1,500 cocaine bricks packed in 63 boxes, with a total weight of 1,750 kg, including packaging (net weight 1,515 kg). One of the bricks was labeled ’’Fendi.’’

The black-market value of the shipment is estimated at 20 billion rubles (approximately $240 million).

A criminal case has been opened by the Baltic Customs Service under Article 229.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (large-scale drug smuggling, punishable by life imprisonment).

’’Operational and investigative measures are currently underway to identify and apprehend members of the organized criminal group involved in drug trafficking,’’ the Federal Customs Service reported.

It is worth noting that 8.5 tons of narcotics were seized at Tashkent International Airport in 2023.