Skip to content
Sunday, 8 November 2026Malta edition Enquire Malta-24 Briefing @CDNewsDispatch
Malta's world news feed Local perspective with global outlook
CDE.NEWS The Dispatch
Enquire
LATEST
Poland in shock: six dead, 15 wounded in Krakow Main Square shooting Malta beat Germany 37-29 in Rugby Trophy thriller Why Malta Should Abstain on the EU Tobacco Excise Directive Kremlin Claims Divided Europe Lacks Clear Voice for Ukraine Peace Talks Wave of bomb threats afflict European flights for third time this week
Germany

Germany’s largest ever cocaine shipment seized by customs

cde.news desk · 1 min read
Xinf
epa07753219 An undated handout picture provided by Hamburg main customs office on 02 August 2019 shows packets of pressed cocaine in Hamburg, Germany. According to Hamburg main customs office, two weeks ago forces examined a suspicious container from Montevideo destined for Antwerp. When they opened the container, which according to shipping documents was loaded with soybeans, they saw only a large amount of black sports bags. In the 211 bags, the officials then discovered over 4,200 packets of pressed cocaine. The total weight of the illegal product is 4.5 tons. EPA-EFE/HAMBURG CUSTOMS HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Customs confiscated a record 4.5 metric tons of cocaine in a shipping container in Hamburg, northern Germany, with a street value of nearly €1 billion, it announced on Friday.

The drugs were discovered two weeks ago during a routine check, resulting in the largest cocaine shipment ever seized in Germany.

More than 4,200 packages in 211 sports bags were discovered in a freight container which claimed to be full of soybeans. The shipment was being transported from Montevideo in Uruguay, via Hamburg, to Antwerp, Belgium.

4.5 tons of cocaine discovered in Hamburg4.5 tons of cocaine discovered in Hamburg

Photos: EPA-EFE/HAMBURG CUSTOMS HANDOUT

Filed under Germany
Topics CocaineGermanyhamburgRecord

More from Germany

More →
Germany

What do we know about the wave of bomb threats against flights in Europe?

 Germany

New wave of bomb threats hits passenger flights across Europe

 Germany

Mysterious death of prominent German politician in Berlin hotel room