Some 187 kilos of coke found hidden in two flower shipments
An investigation into the discovery of cocaine hidden in a flower shipment in January led to a much larger drug bust in April. Ten people were taken into custody who worked for a logistics firm at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam after 160 kilograms of cocaine was found in another flower shipment.
It was not revealed when the arrests took place, but eight of the suspects were still in custody on Thursday.
It started in January when 27 kilos of the drug were found in a batch of flowers at the logistics firm. The discovery triggered a joint investigation between the Marechaussee, the branch of the military that provides airport policing, and the office of the public prosecutor in the Netherlands.
"During this investigation, the Marechaussee was able to intercept a shipment of 160 kg of cocaine at Maastricht Aachen airport in April," the military branch said in a statement. "All suspects were working at the logistics company during the investigation or had worked there in the past."
The suspects were all caught in Amsterdam, Almere, or near Schiphol Airport. The ten logistics workers under scrutiny are of different nationalities, including Dutch, Azerbaijani, Latvian and Polish.
An investigation is ongoing.
