Romanian authorities have confiscated about half a ton of cocaine that was discovered in a fruit and vegetable warehouse near Bucharest, officials said Thursday.
Authorities found 503 kilograms of cocaine concealed in 35 boxes of bananas from Colombia, in the village of Chiajna, west of Bucharest.
The drugs which were seized on Monday have an estimated market value of around 25 million euros, Romania’s anti-organized crime unit, DIICOT, said.
The importer tipped off police, G4Media reported.
Prosecutors said the cocaine was sent with about 20 tons of bananas from Colombia via the Belgian port of Anvers. It was then shipped to the Romanian port of Constanta.
The drugs were bought by an unspecified European Union member state. Authorities have begun a criminal investigation.
In May, Romanian authorities seized more than 1.4 tons of heroin in Constanta in one of the biggest hauls in the European Union in recent years.
The heroin was concealed in two containers loaded with building materials. It was bound for Europe, the anti-organized crime agency said.
It The high quality heroin came from Iran and had a market value of 45 million euros, prosecutors said.
Drug trafficking carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years.
VIDEO | Romania authorities seize 1.4 tons of heroin, one of biggest ever hauls in the EU
