Authorities in Ecuador seized nearly 2.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a container of bananas today, prepared to be transported from the port of Guayaquil to Belgium, BTA reported.

According to the Ecuadorian Interior Ministry, the shipment of "two tons and 458 kilograms of cocaine" was distributed in 2,461 packages among a load of bananas.

One person has been detained in the case.

Five people were arrested for smuggling cocaine worth 72m euros off the Canary Islands

Bananas are a major export in Latin America.

A record 210 tonnes of drugs, mainly cocaine, were seized in Ecuador last year.

And since the beginning of this year - over - 70 tons of drugs.

Ecuador is located between Peru and Colombia, leading producers of cocaine.

Until recently, the country was only a transit country for drug trafficking through its Pacific ports, but it is already suffering from a growing domestic drug market.

cocaine

Ecuador