Cocaine worth $285 million found hidden in banana shipment in Italy - CBS News

What the report says

CBS News reported that Italian police said Tuesday they had seized cocaine valued at roughly $286 million from a banana shipment at the port of Vado Ligure in northwest Italy. According to police cited by CBS, about 1,700 pounds of pure cocaine was found in a refrigerated container that had arrived from Ecuador and was packed among multiple pallets of bananas.

Authorities released video showing officers removing the suspected drugs from the shipment, CBS reported. The seizure comes after another recent case at the same port, where Guardia di Finanza police earlier this month seized 340 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of 120 million euros. Police said they have increased monitoring at Vado Ligure after the earlier seizure.

Investigators described the port as a growing European trade hub and said that status can make it appealing to criminal networks seeking transit routes for illicit goods. The case highlights the use of ordinary commercial cargo, including refrigerated produce containers, to move drugs across borders while blending into legitimate trade flows.

CBS also noted that bananas have repeatedly appeared in major cocaine seizures worldwide. The article cited recent or past cases involving shipments linked to the United Kingdom, Greece, Russia, Norway, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, including large discoveries in banana cargo headed to or moving through international ports. Those examples provide context for why authorities may scrutinize fruit shipments from major export regions, though the specific Italian case remains tied to the Vado Ligure container described by police.