Hidden among a batch of preserved fruit on a ship bound for Belgium, Dutch customs officers found 450 kilos of cocaine with a street value of nearly €34 million.
The big batch of cocaine was intercepted during a customs inspection of an ocean-going vessel bound for Antwerp from Panama as it was making a stop-over in Rotterdam on Wednesday, the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office reported.
"The street value of the consignment is almost €34 million," it noted in a statement.
Tweet translation: 450 kilos of cocaine intercepted in Rotterdam port
In one of the containers onboard, inspectors found 14 boxes among barrels of preserved fruit. Within them a number of sports bags had been stuffed with 450 packets of drugs of one kilogram each.
The Prosecutor's Office noted that the container was loaded to a seagoing vessel in Panama bound for Rotterdam for eventual unloading in Antwerp.
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The container itself had originally come from Guatemala and was eventually destined for a company in Germany. According to the prosecution, the German customer does not have anything to do with the drug trafficking.
The drugs have since been destroyed by the Special Assistance Team, while the case is being further investigated by the HARC team, a 27-year-old partnership of various authorities, is further investigating the case.
