German police have found 140kg of cocaine hidden in banana boxes at a number of Aldi supermarkets in Berlin.
While the discounter was recovering from an extremely busy holiday season, staff at the one of the discount stores branches in the German capital alerted authorities after they discovered the suspicious load while unpacking some banana crates.
Cocaine was then discovered inside banana boxes delivered to at least another six Aldi supermarkets in the Berlin area.
Workers at an Aldi store in Reinickendorf made the first discovery at 8am on Monday.
It is estimated that the haul has an estimated street value of about €12 million. Initial tests showed they contained 55% pure cocaine but police stressed some of the parcels could be up to 90% purity.
“We think that it was intended for export as 140 kilos in one go is too much for the Berlin market,” an unnamed criminal investigator told Berlin’s BZ tabloid.
It is the second largest find of drugs in the history of the German capital. Police have since launched an investigation into the matter.
Authorities are said to be working under the assumption that the bananas, which arrived on a ship from Colombia to Hamburg, were misdirected by way of a "logistical error".
