Portugal police go bananas as cocaine found in supermarkets

LISBON (Reuters) - Police have seized 237 kg (523 pounds) of cocaine after searching several supermarkets in northern Portugal, where the drug arrived inside boxes of Colombian bananas that apparently got shipped to the wrong destination. "The bananas of Colombian origin served to hide the drug that was destined for the European market and that was apprehended in various commercial outlets in the north of the country after distribution from the warehouse," police said in a statement. It said it will work in cooperation with other countries to find the "criminal organisation responsible". Diario de Noticias newspaper said police had been alerted by a customer who saw packages with cocaine inside a box with bananas on a supermarket shelf. It said a preliminary investigation pointed to a mis-shipment of one pallet with the boxes from a larger Colombian cargo that had been meant for Spain but ended up in neighbouring Portugal. (Reporting By Andrei Khalip, editing by Axel Bugge; Editing by Larry King)