What we have here is one of the standard exaggerations of our time. This applies as much to Microsoft complaining about people ripping off Windows as it does to the police or customs estimating the value of drug seizures. It’s simply not true that 16.5 tonnes of cocaine is worth $1 billion dollars.
That’s just not how markets work, not at all:
Authorities in Philadelphia have seized what they believe to be more than $1 billion worth of cocaine in what’s being described as one of the largest drug busts in U.S.