Authorities in the Dominican Republic seized nearly 9.5 tons of cocaine from a shipment of bananas at the country’s most important seaport.
The drug was found inside a shipment from Guatemala that had arrived at the port of Caucedo in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, said Carlos Devers, a spokesman for the Dominican Republic’s Anti-Drug Agency. The shipment was intended Belgium.
The seized shipment, equivalent to about 19,000 pounds, is worth $250 million, officials said.
Jose Adames / AP
Ten suspects have been arrested, Devers said at a news conference.
It is another major seizure by the nation’s authorities. The country seized nearly 47 tons of drugs in 2024, including a stash of 660 pounds found on a boat in waters near Puerto Rico.
At the beginning of this year, officials in Spain seized 13 tons of cocaine from a shipment of bananas. In February 2024, British authorities found more than 12,500 pounds of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas. Both discoveries also set records.
Jose Adames / AP
The Dominican Republic has long been considered a major drug transit point. Before that, the largest seizure on record was in 2006, when officials found more than 5,680 pounds, or nearly three tons, of cocaine in the port of Caucedo. This seizure is more than triple that size.