Authorities in the Dominican Republic confiscated nearly 9.5 tons of cocaine from a banana shipment at the country’s most important seaport.
The drugs were found nestled inside a shipment from Guatemala that had arrived at the Caucedo port in Santo Domingo, the nation’s capital, said Carlos Devers, a spokesman for the Dominican Republic’s Anti-Drug Agency. The shipment was bound for Belgium.
The seized shipment, equivalent to around 19,000 pounds, is worth $250 million, officials said.
Jose Adames / AP
Ten suspects have been detained, Devers said at a press conference.
It’s yet another large seizure by the nation’s authorities. The country seized nearly 47 tons of drugs in 2024, including a 660-pound stash found on a boat in waters near Puerto Rico.
Earlier this year, officials in Spain seized 13 tons of cocaine from a banana shipment. In February 2024, British authorities found more than 12,500 pounds of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas. Both of those discoveries also set records.
Jose Adames / AP
The Dominican Republic has long been considered a major drug transit point. Before this, the largest seizure on record was in 2006, when officials found more than 5,680 pounds, or nearly three tons, of cocaine at the Caucedo port. This seizure is more than triple that size.
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