Over €130 million in cocaine found in Costa Rica sweet potato shipment

Criminal investigators working at the port of Rotterdam on Friday night found a large amount of cocaine hidden in a sweet potato shipment. A total of 1,760 kilograms of cocaine was seized, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in a statement.

The cocaine carried an estimated street value of 132 million euros. The drugs were found hidden in a sea container which was sent from Costa Rica.

The haul was destined for a company in The Hague. Authorities do not believe the business had any knowledge that the cocaine was sent with the root vegetables.

It was the second major capture at the port in a week, as investigators found just over 3,000 kilograms of cocaine in a banana puree shipment from Ecuador. That batch was valued at about 225 million euros.

At the end of June, nearly 3,000 kilograms of the drug was discovered on a farm in De Kwakel. Though that catch was estimated at 195 million euros, it was found along with over 11 million euros in cash.

The recent port seizure was uncovered by the Hit-and-Run Cargo Team working at the Rotterdam seaport. The team is made up of investigators from the port police, the Rotterdam office of the OM, financial crimes inspectorate FIOD and the Dutch customs office.