Over €300 million in cocaine found in sea container from Suriname

A team of Customs investigators found 4,022 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a shipment of wood that originated in Suriname. The drugs were valued at 301 million euros, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said.

The discovery was made at the Port of Rotterdam between Thursday night and Friday morning. The sea container with the shipment was destined for a business in Poland. The drugs were destroyed, the OM said. No arrests were announced.

It was the latest in a string of large cocaine seizures at the Rotterdam port. Nearly 11,000 kilograms of the drug was found at the port just in July. An increasing number of people sneaking on to port property to recover hidden drugs have also been detained by police. In August, Europol called The Netherlands and Belgium the main hubs for smuggling cocaine into Europe.

The Hit-and-Run Cargo team is investigating the latest case. The team is made up of Customs officials, and representatives from financial crimes inspectorate FIOD, the port police, and the Rotterdam office of the OM.