Laurence Dollimore
A MAMMOTH cocaine stash was found hidden in synthetic bananas at the port of Algeciras.
The fake bananas were found packed in 19 boxes following an investigation into drug smuggling from South America by police and customs agents.
The 171kg haul was worth an estimated €17m.
Each box contained 88 plastic bananas and are believed to have come from the town of Turbo in Colombia.
The haul, destined for Huelva, is the second attempt halted by Spanish police recently, following a shipment of furniture made entirely of cocaine paste in April.
Algeciras has long been the Europe entry point of choice for Latin American smugglers.
Like the old TV ad said, “Feeling hungry, no time to eat? Unzip a banana”
Algeciras for smuggling hash from Morocco but completely wrong about cocaine, the favoured place was Galicia, lots of rias and a bung to the Galician fishermen to land it and a bung to the Guardia to look the other way.