SAVANNAH, Ga. — Authorities said a shipment of fresh pineapples to Savannah, Georgia, contained more than a ton of cocaine.
According to a Friday news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, over $19 million worth of cocaine was found inside 450 packages hidden among the fruit at the Savannah seaport last November. The packages were shipped from Cartagena, Colombia.
A field test confirmed the packages, which weighed over 1,150 pounds, contained cocaine, the release said.
"This was an outstanding interception of narcotics by our CBP officers," Savannah CBP Area Port Director Lisa Beth Brown said in a statement. "This seizure is a positive enforcement action against drug smuggling organizations and highlights the important work our officers do each day to stop illegal activity at our borders and ports of entry."
In 2016, more than $6 million worth of cocaine was seized at the same port inside a container of frozen pineapples, AJC.com previously reported. The shipment, which was from Costa Rica, included nearly 350 pounds of cocaine.
On Tuesday, the CBP found about $40,000 worth of cocaine inside Honduran decorative figures at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The agency said it seizes more than 5,000 pounds of drugs on a typical day from ports of entry throughout the U.S.
Both the Colombian and Honduran incidents remain under investigation.
Cox Media Group
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