Turkish police officers have seized 11 kilograms of cocaine; the contraband was found in banana containers shipped from Ecuador to Turkey's Mediterranean coast. The find was made at Turkey's Mersin Port. In April, the directorate said that its forces seized 98kg of cocaine in banana crates. On that occasion the drugs were said to have come from Ecuador as well.
Turkey regularly seizes cocaine at Mersin port in banana containers shipped from Ecuador. Separately, Italian police said on July 21 that they seized five tonnes of cocaine in a ship destined for Turkey.
Analysts assessing the drug trade roughly apply a one-to-10 rule to estimate the actual drug flow based on seizures, with the great majority of drugs making it through to illicit markets. Banana shipments are seen as "a usual suspect" in the cocaine trade. Cheese shipments are also popular with cocaine dispatchers.
Source: intellinews.com