Romanian police halts large frozen fruit transport after discovering cocaine hidden in it

Two men, aged 33 and 36, were detained on Tuesday, September 24, for international drug trafficking after Romanian prosecutors and police discovered cocaine hidden in approximately 15 tons of frozen fruit pulp from Ecuador in the Port of Constanța.

According to investigators, on September 18, a Romanian company unloaded what documents said were barrels and boxes of fruit pulp imported from Ecuador at a terminal in the Port of Constanța. Investigators already had information about the cocaine on the cargo ship, but allowed the suspects to continue their journey while closely monitoring them for five days, even using drones.

“During the investigation, two Romanian citizens, defendants in the criminal case, were identified as being involved in the criminal activity," DIICOT said in a statement.

After completing customs formalities, the container was picked up and transported to the city of Aiud, and 71 barrels containing frozen fruit pulp were transferred to a refrigerated truck. The transfer was made from the maritime container, which held about 16 tons of product packed in 75 plastic barrels, each containing approximately 200 kilograms.

DIICOT notes that the final destination of the shipment was the Netherlands, where it was supposed to arrive on Wednesday.

On Monday, with the assistance of the Border Police, the truck was stopped at the Nădlac 1 border crossing, and during the inspection, cocaine was found in the barrels containing fruit pulp. Investigators added that after the drugs were seized, actions were taken to apprehend the individuals and execute several search warrants, including in the city of Aiud, where they had set up a warehouse to store part of the transported goods.

"Experience from other agencies and countries that have faced similar situations suggested that there could be a 5-20% concentration of drugs hidden within such a product," Deputy Chief Inspector of the Romanian Police Eduard Mirițescu told Digi24.

Up to 4 tons of cocaine worth EUR 20 million could be extracted from the amount of frozen fruit seized, according to investigators.

(Photo source: Politiaromana.ro)