Almost eight tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of more than €200 million, were discovered in a container in the port of Antwerp, Dutch police said on Friday. Further investigations have led to the arrest of four persons in the Netherlands.
The cocaine was hidden in a shipment of bananas from Ecuador. It was discovered on 20 October in Antwerp, which led police in the two countries to open a joint investigation. However, they let the traffickers transport the container on 4 November to its final destination, Emmeloord, in the north of the Netherlands.
The four people were arrested there thanks to Belgian-Dutch cooperation within the Quick Response Unit of the Fortius taskforce, which is dedicated to the fight against cocaine trafficking between Antwerp and the Netherlands, Dutch police said in a statement.
The Fortius taskforce brings together police and customs services, public prosecutors and other services from both countries.
