$1 million in cocaine found in grocery store fruit shipment

WOODINVILLE, Wash. (KING) – Cocaine valued at more than $1 million has been found inside shipments of bananas at three Safeway grocery stores in western Washington state.

The King County Sheriff’s Office recovered 22 kilos, nearly 50 pounds, of cocaine at a Safeway in Woodinville. The drugs were valued at roughly $550,000.

“That’s huge, we don’t see that very often,” said King County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Abbott.

Similar shipments of cocaine were found in banana boxes at Safeway stores in Federal Way and Bellingham.

Employees at the Bellingham Safeway were unpacking boxes on August 18 and found cocaine stacked at the bottom of the boxes. The workers immediately called police.

A police spokesperson said the Safeway distribution center is outside Washington state, but the same center distributes to 144 stores on the West Coast. It’s unclear where the bananas were grown.