The authorities in the Dominican Republic announced on Friday the seizure of 9.5 tonnes of suspected cocaine, the largest in the country's history.
"A total of 320 bags were detected in two containers, containing 9,588 kilogrammes of a substance presumed to be cocaine" destined for Belgium, Carlos Devers, Director of Communications for the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), said at a press conference.
The seizure was made during an operation at the port of Caucedo in Boca Chica, near the capital, Santo Domingo. The drugs were found in two containers of bananas from Guatemala destined for Belgium.
This is a cocaine seizure" never seen before in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean," Devers said.
The operation began in the early hours of the morning and was carried out in a caravan, with a large deployment of security, from the port to the DNCD headquarters in the capital.
"The public prosecutor's office and the DNCD are investigating at least 10 people linked to the port, while continuing investigations on the intercepted cargo bound for Europe," Devers added.
The largest cache seized in the Dominican Republic to date was 2,582 packages in 2016, he said.
