(Trinidad Express) An estimated U.S $100 million worth in cocaine concealed in fruit juice cans originating in Trinidad and Tobago was seized by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers in Virginia, United States in December.
The shipment smuggled in Trinidad Orange Juice cans which are manufactured by Citrus Growers Association, was discovered at the Port of Norfolk.
The cans were discovered in a shipping contained which was destined for New York, according to online news reports.
The cocaine was hidden in over 700 cans which were among thousands of cans, many of which contained juice.
According to CBP officers, there was no difference in the cans from the outside, according to News 3 television news.
The seizure was described by the CBP as “the largest in the port’s history”.
Mark Laria, Customs and Border Protection Area Port Director, told the US media : “We used every tool at our disposal. We have large scale X-ray equipment we have small scale x-ray equipment, we have probes, we have various tools and technology that were brought to bear on this shipment and it took every bit of it plus the officers knowledge and intuition to locate the cocaine in this shipment”.
“I have children of my own, I’m always worried about where these drugs end up, are they getting to schools and for that reason I could not be more excited that this amount of cocaine is not going to make it out onto the streets”, said Laria.
The CBP officers said the use of fruit cans is just one example of how creative drug traffickers are getting, having even used body bags in the past.
Yesterday, SM Jaleel responded to the discovery as follows: “At present we have no knowledge or evidence of the details other than the press release from the United States. We have already commenced our own internal investigation; however, we are not yet in a position to provide any further details at this time.”
Story Created: Jan 17, 2014 at 1:22 PM ECT
“SM Jaleel is a family owned and operated business that began its operations in Trinidad approximately 90 years ago. We have consistently maintained our family values throughout the development of the business to include, in more recent times, the global expansion of our operations through the exportation of our trusted products to various countries and communities around the world.
