Nearly 67kg of cocaine found hidden in pineapples

SPANISH police collared a group of drug smugglers who stuffed cocaine into dozens of hollowed-out pineapples to try and avoid detection, according to a report.

The fruits - containing nearly 67 kilograms of cocaine - were found at the Mercamadrid, a wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Madrid, where they arrived from Costa Rica via the Portuguese port of Setubal, Agence France-Presse reported.

Each pineapple was "perfectly hollowed out and stuffed with compact cylinders" containing the drug and was coated with wax or yellow paraffin to conceal the "odours of the chemical products which the drug contains and avoid its detection," police said in a statement, according to The New York Post.

Seven suspects were arrested - three in Madrid and four in Barcelona - in connection with the smuggling ring.

Spain is the main entry point to Europe for cocaine from South America, mostly from Colombia, and smugglers often turn to creative means to get drugs past customs officials.

In recent years, authorities have located cocaine inside breast implants, a wig, a wheelchair cushion, a plaster cast encasing a man's broken leg as well as inside a 42-piece crockery set.

This article first appeared in the New York Post and was republished here with permission.