03.06.2026 01:20
Hungarian police announced that they seized more than half a ton of cocaine, a drug hidden among bananas arriving from Ecuador. The police stated that this is the largest amount ever seized in a single operation in the country's history.
Half a ton of drugs hidden among bananas from Ecuador were seized in Hungary.
LARGEST AMOUNT EVER SEIZED IN THE COUNTRY'S HISTORY
Hungarian police stated at a press conference that, as part of an international operation in autumn, 522 kilograms of cocaine were seized, arriving from South America and sent to Hungary via Germany.
Head of the Narcotics Crime Department Mate Csupor announced that the drugs seized in the operation were the largest amount ever seized in the country's history. Csupor stated that the black market value of the seized drugs was 42.3 million euros. Csupor said that French customs authorities informed Hungarian officials in November 2025 that drugs were hidden in a container shipment being sent to Hungary.
JOINT OPERATION WITH POLICE FROM 3 COUNTRIES
The Hungarian official said, "The containers arrived at the Port of Bremen on November 17. Six of them were sent to Hungary by train, while 14 were transported to Romania by trucks."
Csupor, stating that Hungarian police then launched a joint operation with police from Germany, Czechia, and Slovakia, said, "Although no suspicious findings were found in previous X-ray scans, after examining 7,000 boxes of bananas in Budapest, 438 packages of cocaine wrapped in plastic foil were found."
72 KILOGRAMS ALSO FOUND IN ROMANIA
Csupor stated that the investigation continued after this, and police uncovered another shipment in spring, saying, "In a container returned from the city of Arad in Romania, an additional 72 kilograms of cocaine worth approximately 5.6 million euros were found."
Csupor said that the international investigation is ongoing to identify those responsible, but the process is extremely complex due to South American criminal organizations being behind the smuggling. Noting that container cocaine smuggling has doubled in recent years, Csupor stated that shipments from Ecuador and Colombia are increasingly reaching South and Central Europe.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT IN FIGHTING DRUG SMUGGLING
At the press conference, Hungarian police officials also stated that significant technical improvements have been made in the fight against drug smuggling and that they use artificial intelligence to detect suspicious shipments. Officials also noted that the majority of drugs reach Europe by sea and are transported through ports to the continent. The press conference stated that due to millions of containers arriving at German ports every year, illegal shipments, which are extremely difficult to detect, are sought to be identified through targeted analyses based on risk profiles.