ROME: Customs police in Rome have seized 108 pounds of pure cocaine that had been stowed away in a container transporting frozen totani, a kind of “flying” squid often served with potatoes. The cargo ship, carrying both narcotics and cephalopods, originated in Argentina.
According to prosecutor Federico Cafiero De Raho, if the drugs hit the streets they would have a value $11 million. As reported by the Associated Press, the narcotics were discovered in Gioia Tauro, a port that is known to be under the boot of the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate, a Calabria-based criminal organization that is by far the biggest trafficker of cocaine in Europe.
No arrests were announced in connection with the seizure.
As common as smuggling narcotics is all over the world, traffickers have resorted to some seriously uncommon tactics.
As reported in the Daily Mail, Anthony Bucci, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection for New York and New Jersey, is not often surprised by the strange methods of transport that have been attempted.
“Some of the more interesting concealment methods include narcotics concealed in prosthetic limbs, wheels on luggage made of heroin and cocaine and heroin secreted into book covers,” Bucci said.
Bucci has seen narcotics hidden anally, vaginally, and once he even come across a dog that had narcotics sewn under his skin. “I have been with the CBP approximately four-and-a-half years. The longer I am here the less surprised I am by the attempted concealment methods,” he said.
The article reveals that drug dealers are often exceptionally crafty when it comes to trying to sneak drugs across borders, in some cases using an avocado, a can of Stella Artois, a baby stroller, a garden hose, and even a surfboard.
