The shipment of 19,780 coconuts was seized in Cartagena, a major port in the north of Colombia, shortly before it was due to leave for the Italian port of Genoa, The Times reports.

Local prosecutors said: “Upon inspection, it was established that the water in the tropical fruit had been exchanged for liquid cocaine.”

The high-grade cocaine is believed to have been dissolved in alcohol in order to trick officials. The technique has also been used with pineapples and dragon fruit in the past.