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Cocaine worth more than $3 million seized from boat carrying bananas in Greece

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Customs agents have seized around 93 kilograms (205 pounds) of cocaine at the port in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki from a ship carrying bananas, authorities said, marking yet another discovery of drugs concealed in the tropical fruit.

The cocaine was found on a vessel that had sailed from Ecuador to Thessaloniki carrying bananas, which would then be delivered over land to Romania by a French company, according to Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue, or IAPR, which oversees customs operations.

Customs agents X-rayed a container and found 80 packages hidden inside the container’s cooling mechanism, IAPR said in a statement released late Friday, while posting a short video showing officers unloading bricks of the alleged drugs.

“Inspectors immediately impounded the drugs and the container and handed over the drugs to the police … the investigation to track down the recipients of the drugs continues,” the statement said.

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The cocaine was found on a vessel that had sailed from Ecuador to Thessaloniki carrying bananas, according to Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue, or IAPR.

IAPR


The estimated street value of the cocaine was more than 2.9 million euros ($3.16 million), authorities said.

Cocaine has been found concealed in banana shipments several times across the globe in recent months.

In July, police dogs in Ecuador helped find more than six tons of cocaine hidden in a banana shipment headed to Germany.

In March, Bulgarian customs officials confiscated about 170 kilograms of cocaine from a ship transporting bananas from Ecuador.

The month before that, British authorities said they found more than 12,500 pounds of cocaine hidden in a shipment of the fruit, breaking the record for the biggest single seizure of hard drugs in the country.

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 found 3 tons of cocaine stashed in a case of bananas in the Italian port of Gioia Tauro.

More than half of the cocaine found in the world is produced in Colombia.



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911 calls released in deadly Georgia school shooting

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A Georgia county’s emergency call center was overwhelmed by calls on Sept. 4 about a school shooting at Apalachee High School that killed four people and wounded nine others, records released Friday by Barrow County show.

Local news organizations report many of the 911 phone calls were not released under public record requests because state law exempts from release calls recording the voice of someone younger than 18 years old. That exemption would cover calls from most of the 1,900 students at the school in Winder, northeast of Atlanta.

Calls spiked around 10:20 a.m., when authorities have said that 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray began shooting. Many calls were answered with an automated message saying there was a “high call volume,” WAGA-TV reported.

One man called 911 after receiving text messages from a girlfriend. He was put on hold for just over 10 minutes because of an influx of calls at the time of the shooting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“She hears people yelling outside, so I don’t know if that’s officers in the building or that’s — I don’t know,” he said, adding that she was eventually evacuated out of the school.

Other adults also called 911 after their children contacted them.

“My daughter calling me crying. Somebody go ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,'” one mother said. The 911 operator responded: “Ma’am we have officers out there, OK?”

Parents of students at an elementary school and middle school neighboring Apalachee also flooded 911 seeking information.

“Sir, my daughter goes to school next door to Apalachee. Is there a school shooter?” one caller asked.

“We do have an active situation (at) Apalachee High School right now,” the operator responded. “We have a lot of calls coming in.”

More than 500 radio messages between emergency personnel were also released Friday.

“Active shooter!” an officer yells in one audio clip while speaking with a dispatcher, CNN reported. Another officer responds, “Correct. We have an active shooter at Apalachee High School.”

The shooting killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, as well as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, with seven of those hit by gunfire.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported Thursday that the suspect rode the school bus on the day of the shooting with the assault-style rifle concealed in his backpack.

He then asked a teacher for permission to go to the front office to speak with someone, and when he received it, he was allowed to take his backpack with him, GBI said. He then went to a restroom, where he hid, and then eventually took out the weapon and started shooting, investigators said. A knife was also found on him when he was arrested.

According to investigators, the suspect enrolled at Apalachee High on Aug. 14, and between Aug. 14 and the day of the shooting, he was absent for nine days of school.

The family told CBS News that the suspect’s maternal grandmother had visited the school the day before the massacre to discuss the suspect’s alleged behavioral issues. 

The suspect has been charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and District Attorney Brad Smith has said more charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with the wounded. Authorities have also charged his father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, alleging that he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known that the teen was a danger to himself and others.

The 13,000 students at Barrow County’s other schools returned to class Tuesday. The 1,900 students who attend Apalachee are supposed to start returning the week of Sept. 23, officials said Friday.



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Pope says Trump, Harris are both “against life”

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Pope says Trump, Harris are both “against life” – CBS News


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Speaking to reporters Friday, Pope Francis made clear he doesn’t agree with former President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, or Vice President Kamala Harris’ stance on abortion.

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9/13: CBS News Weekender – CBS News

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9/13: CBS News Weekender – CBS News


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Lana Zak has the latest on Boeing factory workers going on strike for the first time in 16 years, an update from the Starliner astronauts still on the International Space Station, and how you can combat election anxiety.

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