3 Men Charged as Police Find Nearly $100M Worth of Cocaine Hidden in Bananas
NEED TO KNOW
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Authorities seized 943kg of cocaine from a shipment container at Southampton Docks in England
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According to the U.K.’s National Crime Agency, the drugs had been smuggled in bananas sailing from Nicaragua via Panama and were worth nearly $100 million
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Three men are set to appear in court next month having been charged with importing the class A drugs
Authorities in England discovered nearly $100 million worth of cocaine being smuggled in bananas.
On Saturday, March 28, the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced in a news release that they had charged three men with importing class A drugs amid their investigation into a shipment seized at Southampton Docks.
Border Force officers who were working in partnership with the NCA discovered 943kg of cocaine when they opened a container that had sailed from Nicaragua via Panama. The drugs had a street value of £75 million (just under $100 million), per the release.
“This is a massive amount of cocaine which was destined for the streets of the UK,” said NCA Branch Commander Saju Sasikumar in the news release. “The supply of Class A drugs badly damages society by bringing violence and addiction to our communities.”
Shipment of cocaine hidden in bananas
Credit: National Crime Agency
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Initially, just two men — Daniel Dumitru of the West Midlands, and Andrew Smyth of Merseyside — were charged with importing class A drugs as part of the NCA’s investigation into the large seizure of cocaine on March 18.
Stock image of bananas
Credit: Getty
Dumitru, 37, and Smyth, 46, appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on March 19.
A third man — Joshua Berry of Hampshire — was then charged with importing a class A drug and the production of Class B drugs, per ITV News and the BBC. Berry, 28, appeared in court on Saturday, March 28.
Cocaine seized in the U.K.
Credit: National Crime Agency
All three men have since been remanded in custody until they are expected to appear before Southampton Crown Court on April 17.
“Seizing these drugs deprives the crime group behind the importation of huge profits that cannot be ploughed back into further offending,” said Sasikumar in the NCA news release.
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