Last week, the Federal Police and the Customs in Ghent discovered 500kg of cocaine, hidden in containers with printing paper, on a boat from Brazil, with a street value of about €25 million.
The Federal Judicial Police in East Flanders, the Belgian and Dutch Customs and the Shipping Police carried out a targeted inspection on a fruit juice boat from the Brazilian city of Santos that moored in Ghent on 21 September,
"Both the outside of the ship - by divers from Dutch Customs - and the cargo were checked, using the mobile scanner of Belgian Customs and a police drug dog," the police said in a press release. "12 containers with printing paper were unloaded and fully searched."
In the containers, 50 boxes were found, each containing ten packages of cocaine. In total, approximately 500 kilograms were seized, with a total street value of about €25 million.
The Federal Judicial Police of East Flanders was ordered by the East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office to further investigate this transport and the organisation behind it.
In the past, drugs have been found on several occasions on bulk carriers (transport of fruit juice, coal, etc.) - both in the cargo itself, in containers on deck, and on the outside (below the waterline) of the ship.
