An estimated $.3m in cocaine was found hidden in preserved fruits at the TTPost National Mail Centre in Piarco yesterday evening.
The cocaine find came mere hours after Customs and Excise Division officers and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) made a significant arms and ammunition discovery at a Central warehouse in Couva on Monday night, which followed another large arms and ammunition find last Friday at the bond at the Piarco International Airport.
Senior sources at the Customs and Excise Division told Guardian Media that the package was dropped off at the TTPost center just after lunch yesterday. Customs and Excise Division officers examined the package around 2.30 pm.
The officers later dissected the prunes and cherries in the preserved packets and found what appeared to be cocaine inside.
The drugs were later weighed and some 610 grams were discovered. Sources say the estimated street value was US$55,000 (TT$374,000). One kilogram of cocaine, according to law enforcement sources, is worth approximately US$80,000 on the streets.
The shipment was destined for the United States.
Late yesterday, a release from TTPost confirmed the find and congratulated staff at the National Mail Centre, as well as the Customs and Excise Division officers, for their diligence in the matter.
The release stated, “A senior official at TTPost complimented the staff for their alertness in deeming the package suspicious. He advised that this same level of scrutiny is consistent with TTPost operating standards and that the package would have gone through a further level of examination at the facilities of the international courier company that was destined to take the package to the United States.
“The Customs and Excise Division was commended for their swift work in this matter, as well as other agencies who contributed to foiling this apparent attempt at exporting illegal substances to the United States.”
