German customs officials found more than 16 tons of cocaine in containers that arrived in Hamburg from Paraguay, while Dutch authorities today arrested a suspect in the shipment of 7,2 tons of drugs seized two days ago in Antwerp, the authorities said.
Customs in Hamburg announced that the cocaine found in a German port was the largest amount ever seized in Europe and one of the largest in the world.
The drug was found on February 12 during the search of five containers from Paraguay that were previously marked as suspicious by several European customs authorities, the office in Hamburg announced.
They discovered "clear irregularities" in three containers, which were full of cans but appeared to contain other goods as well.
Customs officials found cocaine hidden in more than 1.700 cans.
German and Dutch authorities continued their investigation and on Sunday another 7,2 tons of cocaine were seized in the Belgian port of Antwerp, for which a 28-year-old man was arrested today on suspicion of being responsible for the shipments.
More than 23 tons of seized drugs in Habmurg and Antwerp have a street value of "several billion euros", according to the estimate of the customs service in Hamburg.
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