Italian Banana Shipment Hides $59M Worth Of Cocaine

There is always money in bananas, but there's a little bit less this week after Italian police uncovered $59 million worth of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas yesterday.

According to The Local, police stopped a shipment of bananas from Ecuador at the Gioia Tauro port in Calabria and discovered 473 pounds of "the purest cocaine" hidden among the produce. The shipment is estimated to be worth €43 million, or $59 million.

Bananas are apparently a common cover for cocaine attempting to make its way into Italy. As recently as November, police in Genoa found $82.6 million worth of cocaine tucked inside a shipment of bananas from the Dominican Republic. In February, some drug lords tried to sneak $18 million worth of cocaine into Italy inside sacks of Brazilian sugar.

According to The Local, Italy is a key point of entry for drugs getting into Europe. Mafia associations allegedly make the Gioia Tauro port in Calabria particularly vulnerable.