U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of Wilmington in Delaware seized 99.66 pounds of cocaine on hidden in a shipment of pineapples on Wednesday.
According to authorities, the cocaine was hidden within the bottoms of 20 cardboard boxes containing pineapples from San Carlos, Costa Rica. The shipment was destined to Clifton, New Jersey.
“Part of CBP’s mission is to prevent illicit narcotics from entering the U.S. utilizing all the resources at our disposal – technology, K9s, CBP officers, and our law enforcement partners,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore. “This interception is a great example of the results we can accomplish working with our partners across the law enforcement community.”
The News Journal of Wilmington cites a United Nations report that says the roughly 45 kilograms of cocaine has a street value of more than $7.6 million.
The News Journal says Wednesday’s seizure comes months after federal agencies launched a surprise inspection at the port’s federally bonded warehouses. Citing federal disclosure reports, the newspaper says Adderall and thousands of Xanax pills also have been seized at the port this year.
The CBP Wilmington Advanced Targeting Unit (ATU), U.S. Coast Guard targeting unit, and Delaware National Guard Counter-Drug Taskforce CBP Liaison, targeted the shipment. A K9 alerted to the shipment which promoted further inspection leading to the discovery of the narcotics.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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