22 kilos of cocaine worth $550K found in boxes of bananas at Safeway, according to sheriff

WOODINVILLE, Wash. - Two Safeway employees in Woodinville, Washington, made quite the discovery as they were unpacking boxes of bananas in the back of the store Sunday — 22 kilos of cocaine, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

The employees discovered two boxes that contained what they believed to be multiple packages of what they suspected were narcotics and immediately contacted the police, according to a Facebook post from the King County Sheriff’s Office.

"It’s not unusual to find a spider hiding in a bunch of bananas, but kilos of cocaine?" the Facebook post began.

After arriving on the scene, King County deputies tested the contents of the packages, which tested positive for cocaine. Detectives confiscated approximately 22 kilos of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $550,000.

According to the King County Sheriff’s Facebook post, the Drug Enforcement Agency is now involved in the ongoing investigation to determine where the bananas came from. They said that Safeway has been extremely cooperative and that employees have searched through all other incoming boxes of bananas.

Cocaine was also found at two other Safeway stores in the area, one in Bellingham and one in Federal Way. In both additional cases, the narcotics were concealed similarly in produce containers.