World

Hundreds of kilos of cocaine found in pineapples

20:19 pm on 18 January 2018

Hundreds of kilograms of cocaine hidden inside fresh pineapples has been seized by police in Portugal and Spain.

Officers also arrested nine members of a gang they said had transported the drug from South America.

The cocaine was hidden inside fresh pineapples. Photo: 123RF

The seizure, from shipping containers, was part of an ongoing investigation across both countries that started in April 2017, police said.

Aside from the 745kg of cocaine seized and the arrests, police also dismantled a laboratory where the drug was cut with additives.

"This organised international group had repeatedly brought large quantities of cocaine to the European continent," Portuguese investigators said in a statement.

The Iberian Peninsula is a major entry point for cocaine and other drugs to Europe, either directly from Latin America or via North and West Africa.