Russian customs officers, working in coordination with the Federal Security Service (FSB), have intercepted a massive shipment of 820 kilograms of cocaine concealed in containers of bananas. According to the Federal Customs Service (FTS), the street value of the haul exceeds 12 billion rubles on Russia’s black market.
Authorities were tipped off in advance by foreign partners about the plans of a South American criminal group to establish a drug trafficking route into Russia. The intelligence allowed Russian officers to prepare a targeted inspection.
The cocaine was discovered hidden beneath the floor of a shipping container, stashed inside a "crudely fabricated secret compartment." Officers recovered 820 individual bricks of a white powdery substance, confirmed to be cocaine.
A criminal case has been opened under the article on drug smuggling in especially large quantities. The maximum sentence under Russian law for this offense is life imprisonment.
