418 kilos of cocaine found in a cover load of frozen onion rings

Drug dealers seem to have an affinity for smuggling their wares in food (though I guess it’s also possible they’ve tried smuggling drugs in everything and I only pay attention to the food stories). In the past couple of years, I’ve covered fentanyl being smuggled in breakfast burritos (delicious but deadly), cocaine stashed in individual coffee beans (seems unnecessarily difficult), and more of the powder being moved in “frosted” corn flake boxes (points for wordplay).

Despite these busts, the drug trade is still going strong, and yesterday, the United Kingdom announced their latest food-related drug seizure: cocaine hiding with onion rings.

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According to the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA), a 30-year-old Polish truck driver traveling into the U.K. from France was found to have 418 kilos of cocaine hidden amongst a cover load of frozen onion rings. Authorities estimate that the drugs would have had a street value of around $44 million. The driver has since been charged with smuggling Class A drugs.

“This was a really significant amount of drugs taken out of circulation,” NCA Branch Commander Mark Howes said in announcing the bust. “The seizure will deprive the organized crime group responsible for them of profit which would have fueled more offending. Working with our partners such as Border Force we will continue to fight the Class A drugs threat in our mission to protect the public.”

A lorry driver has been charged in a National Crime Agency investigation after a haul of 418 kilos of cocaine was found in a cover load of frozen onion rings.

Full story ➡️ https://t.co/QP3AxgabwV pic.twitter.com/LrBh1yqaWv

— National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) November 14, 2021

As a drug seizure with an unusual twist, the NCA posted a photo of the haul on their official Twitter page. So far, that tweet has received two comments. One user asked, “Serious question what happens to the onion rings,” while another wrote, “Think I’d rather have the onion rings.”

Next time, instead of smuggling drugs into the U.K., maybe consider starting a legitimate onion ring business. There seems to be a demand.

Source: Food & Wine