Customs authorities in Hamburg and Antwerp have seized a record haul of more than 23 tonnes of cocaine destined for the Netherlands in two raids this month, German customs authorities said on Wednesday (February 24).
Euronews reports that the Hamburg authorities stated that more than 16 metric tonnes in containers that had arrived from Paraguay. The cocaine was found in more than 1,700 tin cans that had been filled with putty, during a search of five shipments that had been flagged as suspicious.
The total haul of more than 23 tonnes would have had a street value of “several billion euros”, officials said.
The shipment seized in Germany represents a street value of 1.2 billion euros, said René Matschke, the head of Hamburg customs investigation who called the catch “an incredible sum” which “beats everything seen so far.”
Prosecutors said a 28-year old Dutchman had been arrested on Wednesday who was registered as the recipient of the containers in which the drugs were found.
In the Belgian port of Antwerp around 7.2 tonnes of the drugs was found hidden in a container filled with wood blocks which had been shipped from Panama.
On Tuesday, Dutch customs officers announced the largest heroin haul ever found in one bust in the Netherlands – more than 1,500 kg of heroin discovered in the port of Rotterdam.
Euronews / Reuters
