Three individuals have been charged in the UK for allegedly attempting to traffic nearly $100 million worth of cocaine concealed in a container of bananas, authorities announced. Joshua Berry, 28; Daniel Dumitru, 37; and Andrew Smyth, 46, were arrested in Southampton, England, with their next court appearance set for April 17, according to the National Crime Agency.
Berry was charged first at his initial hearing on Friday, while Dumitru and Smyth were apprehended nearly two weeks prior. Their arrests are part of an investigation into a massive cocaine haul seized at Southampton Docks earlier this month. Border agency officers found over 2,000 pounds (1 ton) of cocaine inside a shipping container filled with bananas that arrived from Panama but originally set sail from Nicaragua.
The drugs’ street value equates to approximately $98.9 million. If convicted, the three charged men could face up to life in prison under UK sentencing guidelines. A National Crime Agency spokesperson stated, “This is a massive amount of cocaine which was destined for the streets of the UK.”
Hiding cocaine in shipments of bananas is not uncommon globally; authorities have reported seizures from such fruit in Russia, Norway, the Dominican Republic, Greece, and Bulgaria, among other countries. In February 2024, British authorities recorded their largest single seizure of hard drugs on record at Southampton Docks with over 12,500 pounds (2,000 lbs) of cocaine found in a banana shipment.