Russian custom-mades authorities said Wednesday that they took 820 kilograms (1,800 pounds) of drug concealed under a delivery of bananas, calling it their biggest bust of drugs from Latin America this year.The haul, valued at more than 12 billion rubles ($153 million), was revealed in banana containers with the aid of the FSB security service, according to the Federal Customs Service.
The drug was crammed in briquettes marked with the logo of a French high-end fashion brand name and concealed in a surprise cavity under the fruit.Authorities stated the bust followed a tip-off from foreign colleagues about a South American trafficking group attempting to establish a new smuggling path into Russia.Investigators stated they released a criminal probe into massive drug trafficking, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.Russia enforces rigorous anti-drug laws and regularly by far extreme penalties for narcotics offenses.Cocaine smuggling into Russia has actually risen over the past 2 years, according to the pro-Kremlin paper Izvestia.International traffickers are significantly turning to Russia as a transit center, Izvestia reported, in part due to the fact that the Ukrainian port of Odesa has ended up being unattainable due to the continuous war in Ukraine.