Cocaine seized at Port of Wilmington

Two shipments of pineapples also contained nearly 200 pounds of cocaine.    U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard and Delaware National Guard Counter-Drug Taskforce seized a load of cocaine weighing more than 100 pounds at the Port of Wilmington in Delaware on Wednesday, CBP announced Thursday.
   The seizure followed an Aug. 22 seizure of 99 pounds of cocaine.
   CBP officers devanned a shipment of pineapples from Costa Rica, and a Wilmington Police Department narcotics detector dog alerted to pallets of pineapple cases, similar to last week’s seizure, CBP said.
   Officers examining the cases discovered strips of vacuum-sealed cocaine packages concealed inside the corrugated bottom flaps of cardboard boxes, similarly to the Aug. 22 load. 
   The 100 pound-plus load included 244 packages of cocaine worth a street value of more than $3 million.
   No arrests have been made, according to CBP.
   “This case illustrates how joint investigative effort and cooperation between agencies directly affects the safety and security of our local communities,” Capt. Kurt Clarke, deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia, said in a statement. “Through coordinated team efforts we will continue to work together to keep drugs out of our ports and off of our streets.”
   CBP Office of Field Operations officers lead CBP’s border security mission at ports of entry, using a variety of techniques to intercept narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture, counterfeits and other illicit products, CBP said.