Latest discovery follows similar recent incidents at Grand Frais in eastern France and Lidl in Berlin and Brandenberg
For the third time in just a few months, a significant quantity of cocaine has been found in crates of bananas at retail stores in Europe.
While it is not uncommon for the drug to be discovered in banana shipments, it is far more unusual for it to end up in retail stores themselves.
The latest reported discovery was at multiple branches of an unnamed discount supermarket chain in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany.
In the same week as the German discovery was made, a group of workers at the Grand Frais supermarket chain found approximately 50kg of cocaine hidden under pallets of bananas at branches in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France.
And in April of this year, employees at seven branches of Lidl in Berlin and four in Brandenburg found the same type of drug hidden among crates of bananas.
The German haul, which reportedly weighed approximately 95kg, has an estimated street value of €7m, according to a report by news website DW.
The consignment was found by employees at two stores in Mönchengladbach on 10 September.
Subsequent searches at other outlets in the region under the same banner revealed further quantities.
Police said they believed the shipment originated in South America and passed through the Belgian port of Antwerp before reaching its final destination.
Authorities are investigating how the drugs ended up in the supermarket’s supply chain, suggesting that the retailer was not the intended recipient. The specific chain involved has not been disclosed.
Regular occurrence
It’s fair to say the global banana trade has had an unfortunate connection with international drug smugglers for some time.
Two of Europe’s largest ports for banana shipments, Rotterdam and Antwerp-Zeebrugge, have recently started to remove PIN code entry systems for containers in favour of more secure digital passports.
The problem is by no means confined to the Benelux, however. In August, customs agents in Greece seized around 93kg of cocaine from a ship bringing bananas into the port of Thessaloniki.
Later the same month, UK border police searched a newly arrived cargo of Ecuadorean bananas in Dover and found 952kg of cocaine.
A year earlier, Spanish customs agents and police confiscated what was the country’s biggest cocaine haul to date, amounting to 9.5 tonnes stashed in a container of bananas from Ecuador.
And in June 2023, Spanish officials searched locations in Colombia and Spain and took away a total of 6.5 tonnes of cocaine found hidden among boxes of bananas.
