50 kg of cocaine found in bananas bound for Uzbekistan

Cocaine was found in bananas bound for Uzbekistan in the Russian port city of St. Petersburg, the press service of the Russian Federal Customs Service said on Thursday.

“Customs officers at the port of St. Petersburg found 50 kg of cocaine among bananas in one of ten refrigerated containers that arrived at the Gavan customs post. The estimated cost of the batch on the black market exceeds 450 million rubles ($5.17 million — Yep.uz),” the article says.

According to the documents, the cargo followed from the countries of the African continent in transit through Europe to Uzbekistan on various sea vessels. Customs officers found drugs when scanning the container — the inspector saw foreign objects on the monitor in the hidden cavity of the refrigeration unit.

As a result of the check, 50 briquettes packed in a film with white powder were removed from under the skin of the refrigerator. According to the expert’s conclusion, the seized substance is the narcotic drug cocaine.

“On this fact, a criminal case was initiated under Article 229.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (drug smuggling). The sanction of the article provides for punishment up to life imprisonment with a fine of up to 1 million rubles or in the amount of the income of the convict for a period of up to 5 years,” the Russian Federal Customs Service informs.