Mexican authorities find cocaine diluted in drums of frozen fruit pulp shipped from Colombia

MEXICO CITY – Customs and law enforcement personnel in Mexico say they found an undetermined amount of cocaine dissolved in fruit pulp imported from Colombia.

The drug was detected among 24 metric tons of red berries packed into 120 fifty-five-gallon drums of frozen fruit pulp. The berries were thawed, and tests revealed that 16 of the drums contained cocaine mixed into the fruit.

Mexico's customs and tax authority said Monday that it was a "sophisticated" and "unprecedented" smuggling attempt.

Authorities said the Mexican company named as the importer of the shipment had listed its headquarters at an abandoned, half-built house.