9,500kg of cocaine worth £196m headed for Europe found in banana shipment

Authorities successful the Dominican Republican accidental cocaine discovered successful the country's largest-ever seizure was headed to Europe.

Hidden successful a banana shipment, officials recovered 9,500kg of the cause astatine a larboard successful the capital, Santo Domingo.

The cocaine was hidden successful 320 bags with an estimated thoroughfare worth of $250 cardinal (£196 million).

At slightest 10 radical linked to the larboard are nether probe with aboriginal investigations showing the bananas had arrived from Guatemala, according to the National Drug Control Directorate.

Communications main Carlos Denvers said: "Many chartless individuals tried to transportation the drugs to different instrumentality that would beryllium shipped connected a vas to Belgium."

The haul acold exceeds the 2,580kg seizure made by Dominican authorities astatine the aforesaid larboard successful 2006.

Monitoring agencies person reported that the Caribbean is resurfacing arsenic a large cause trafficking way from Colombia to Europe.

A report past year recovered the usage of cocaine is expanding successful respective occidental European countries including the UK, Belgium, France and Spain.

Europe accounted for 21% of the world's cocaine users successful 2020, according to a United Nations report.

Evidence suggests usage of the cause is bringing dire wellness consequences, with caller information showing drug-poisoning deaths successful England and Wales deed the highest level successful 30 years, fuelled by a 30% emergence successful fatalities involving cocaine.