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U.K. police find $568 million of cocaine hidden in bananas, shattering drug-seizure record
British authorities on Friday said they had found more than 12,500 pounds of cocaine hidden in a shipment of bananas, shattering the record for the biggest single seizure of hard drugs in the country.
The National Crime Agency said 5.7 tons of cocaine were found in a container of bananas at the port of Southampton on England’s south coast on Feb. 8. The haul of drugs had an estimated street value of $568 million, the agency said.
Before the massive bust, the previous largest seizures of drugs in the U.K. was a 3.7-ton haul of cocaine found in Southampton two years ago, and before that, 3.2 tons discovered on a tug boat in Scotland in 2015, the agency said.
The packages of cocaine found this month were concealed in a cargo of bananas which had been transported from South America, and officials believe the drugs were headed to Hamburg, Germany, “for onward delivery.”
National Crime Agency
“This record-breaking seizure will represent a huge hit to the international organized crime cartels involved, denying them massive profits,” NCA Director Chris Farrimond said in a statement. “While the destination for the consignment was continental Europe in this case, I have no doubt that a significant proportion would have ended up back here in the U.K., being peddled by U.K. criminal gangs.”
The NCA estimates that criminal gangs make more than $5 billion a year from Britain’s cocaine market, which “has seen an exponential rise in associated violence in the past few years.”
Authorities said they were working with international partners to identify the criminal networks involved with the record-breaking seizure.
Drugs have been discovered concealed in banana shipments throughout Europe. Last August, customs agents in the Netherlands seized 17,600 pounds of cocaine found hidden inside crates of bananas in Rotterdam’s port. Three months before that, a police dog sniffed out 3 tons of cocaine stashed in a case of bananas in the Italian port of Gioia Tauro.
Record amounts of cocaine have been seized in Europe in recent years, with ports in the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium accounting for more than 70% of the seizures, according to statistics analyzed by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
Colombia produces about 60% of the cocaine found in the world.
The announcement of the record-breaking seizure in England came just a day after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said officers had seized 6.5 tons of methamphetamine in a Texas border town, the largest single seizure ever made at a U.S. port.
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There are many reasons to consider investing in gold right now. With high inflation, geopolitical unrest and the coming election, having a healthy safe haven allocation in your investment portfolio makes sense. And, gold is an effective way to protect your portfolio from risk.
Gold’s price has seen strong growth this year, too. After starting the year off at $2,063.73, the price of gold climbed to $2,439.98 by May 20. But that price has since cooled. Today, gold is trading at around $2,380.00 per ounce. Although that’s significantly lower than gold’s May record high, it still represents more than 15% growth year-to-date.
While there are many reasons to invest in gold, it’s important to make the right moves when you do, particularly this July.
Invest in gold now to give your portfolio a boost.
3 gold investing moves to boost your portfolio this July
You can use gold to improve your portfolio’s performance in a few ways this July. Some of the most effective include:
Focus on allocation
Gold’s price has grown quite a bit this year. And, the safe haven properties of the precious metal are valuable given the current economic, political and geopolitical climates. So, you may want to add quite a bit of the yellow metal to your portfolio. But, you shouldn’t overdo your investment.
While gold is an attractive safe haven, the stock market’s performance has been strong this year, too – the S&P 500 is up around 17% year-to-date. And, it’s important to balance your portfolio with a healthy mix of safe havens and traditional assets like stocks and bonds.
Most experts say you shouldn’t allocate more than 10% of your portfolio assets to gold. Some suggest that a 5% gold allocation is more reasonable. So, consider your investment goals, the other assets in your portfolio and how gold relates to those assets when choosing your allocation. But, in any case, keep your holdings to a maximum of 10% of your portfolio’s assets.
Take advantage of gold’s safe haven and inflation protection properties today.
Invest now
Gold’s price is down but it may not stay there for long. Gold’s price tends to go through cycles. Upward cycles are typically followed by downward cycles and vice versa. Based on the cyclical nature of gold’s price, there are two reasons why waiting to make your investment could be a mistake:
- The discount could disappear: If you buy gold now, you’ll do so at a discount to its most recent high. But, if you wait too long, that discount could disappear.
- You could be priced out: Gold isn’t a cheap commodity, even considering the current discount. And, if history is any indication, gold’s price will continue to produce long-term gains – regardless of the short-term cycles it experiences. So, if you wait too long, gold’s price could become cost-prohibitive – making it difficult to add the commodity to your portfolio later.
So, add gold to your portfolio now to take advantage of the current discount in its price and avoid any issues with being priced out of the market later.
Look for discounted options
Gold’s spot price is typically the price that’s quoted online. But, that’s not usually the price you pay when you purchase the commodity. In most cases, dealers add a markup to the spot price to generate a profit. So, it’s possible to overpay for the commodity if you’re not careful – but it’s also possible to find discounted options.
Many online gold dealers buy second-hand precious metals and resell them at a discount to their freshly-minted counterparts. And, while these products may have some imperfections and may not be the particular design you want, their value is in the weight of the gold they’re made with. So, when you look for these discounts, you could cut the cost of your gold investment while you take advantage of the benefits of adding the precious metal to your portfolio.
The bottom line
Gold is a compelling asset with valuable inflation protection and safe haven qualities. But, when you invest invest in the precious metal this July, it’s a good idea to make your investment strategically. In particular, invest now and be sure that when you do, you maintain a healthy allocation representing 10% or less of your portfolio’s value. Also, look for opportunities to buy gold at a discount. Doing so could cut the cost of your investment. Compare your options among leading gold dealers now.
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