Cocaine in banana pulp

Sydney man Mark De Hesselle will spend eight years behind bars after he was caught importing 552kg of cocaine hidden in banana pulp in 2020. The drug smuggler from North Sydney was involved in a large-scale operation to bring the cocaine, worth $248m, into Sydney from Brazil. Acting on a tip-off from the DEA, the Australian Border Force intercepted the shipment of 2,000 boxes of fruit pulp from Brazil. Cops watched for two weeks as De Hesselle collected and searched through the banana pulp to remove cocaine they had replaced with inert powder. He was sentenced to 13 years and seven months with a non-parole period of 98 months.