Summary
4 July 2014
In Portugal, around 200 bags of cocaine have been found in boxes of bananas on sale in supermarkets around the country. Police say they're hoping that the discovery will help them find those involved in bringing drugs from Colombia to Europe.
Reporter:
Alison Roberts
Hiding drugs among bananas is a strategy smugglers have used before
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Report
A shopper browsing in the fruit section of a Portuguese supermarket had a bit of a shock on discovering a packet of cocaine in among the bananas.
According to police, a total of 237 kg of cocaine - parcelled into 198 different bags - has so far been discovered in boxes of bananas in supermarkets in various parts of northern Portugal.
They all came from one pallet from a shipment of bananas from Colombia, from which the smugglers apparently forgot to remove the drugs when ridding themselves of the fruit.
Police in Portugal, Spain and South America are now working together to trace those involved in the suspected smuggling ring.
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Vocabulary
- browsing
(here) walking through a shop looking at things
- parcelled
divided and put into parcels (= objects wrapped in paper or plastic)
- pallet
flat, wooden structure for moving or storing heavy things
- shipment
large amount of goods carried on a ship, plane, train or truck
- ridding themselves of
throwing away (things you no longer need)
- smuggling ring
group of people involved in smuggling (= the activity of illegally taking things in and out of a country)
