25 tons of cocaine seized in Germany, the largest ever find in Europe, has been valued at multiple billions of dollars.
Customs investigators have seized 25 tons of cocaine at the port of Hamburg. It is the largest cocaine find ever made in all of Europe, local media report.
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As reported by the NDR, authorities received a tip-off from the Netherlands about an import company in Rotterdam, which had irregularities in the past, which put agents on the shipment trail.
By having five containers the company had ordered from Paraguay to Hamburg scanned and searched, agents discovered more than 1,700 large paint cans containing some 25 tons of cocaine.
The head of Hamburg's Customs Investigation Office, René Matschke, revealed that "the street value of the drugs ranges between 1.5 billion and 3.5 billion euros" (between $1.8 billion and $4.2 billion).
Meanwhile, the Dutch security authorities also investigated the importing company while police seized another 7.2 tons of cocaine at Antwerp (Belgium). On Wednesday, a 28-year-old man linked to the case was arrested in the Netherlands. He is reportedly the general manager of the company.