Dominican Republic drug enforcement agents intercepted 32.64 kilograms of cocaine disguised as handcrafted ceramic bananas at the Port of Manzanillo in Montecristi province, thwarting an attempt to smuggle the drugs to the Netherlands.
In a joint operation, the National Directorate of Drug Control (DNCD) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office discovered 303 ceramic bananas filled with cocaine during a routine container inspection. Intelligence reports had flagged potential irregularities, leading agents to examine several export containers.
The cocaine-filled replicas were packed in 16 boxes within the shipping container.