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$18M of cocaine discovered in bananas donated to Texas prison
Nearly $18 million worth of cocaine was discovered in two pallets of bananas that were donated to a Texas prison. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

$18M of cocaine discovered in bananas donated to Texas prison

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice sent officials to pick up a big donation of bananas but what they ended up with was nearly $18 million worth of cocaine, KYW-TV reported.

"Sometimes, life gives you lemons. Sometimes, it gives you bananas. And sometimes, it gives you something you'd never expect!" TDCJ wrote in a release on Facebook.

On Friday, TDCJ was offered a couple of pallets of bananas for its prisoners. The bananas were reportedly too ripe to sell in grocery stores.

Two sergeants from the Wayne Scott Unit in Angleton took the 20-mile trip to Ports of America in Freeport to retrieve the bananas. Freeport sits on the Gulf of Mexico in South Texas.

But it didn't take long for them to discover that not all of the boxes of fruit were the same.

"One of the boxes felt different than the others," TDJC said in the release. "They snipped the straps, pulled free the box, and opened it up. Inside, under a bundle of bananas, he found another bundle! Inside that? What appeared to be a white powdery substance."

Port authorities were immediately notified.

"U.S. Customs arrived on the scene, and the substance tested positive for cocaine," the release said.

Law enforcement officials emptied all of the boxes before sending the bananas to the prison.

"With an instinct that something just wasn't quite right, our guys uncovered 540 packages of cocaine within the shipment, with an estimated street value of $17,820,000! What a find by the boys in grey!" TDCJ said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are still investigating the case.

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