Police seize 3,223 kilos of cocaine in Brabant and Papendrecht, eight arrested
Dutch police seized 3,223 kilograms of cocaine on Friday in two connected operations and arrested eight people, authorities said Sunday. Part of the drugs was found in a van near Papendrecht, while the majority was hidden in a press container on a truck trailer in Klundert, Noord-Brabant.
The trailer and van were located in a warehouse in Klundert after police observed “suspicious” activity around the property earlier in the week, the Public Prosecution Service said.
Officers stopped a van leaving the warehouse near Papendrecht on Thursday night. In a concealed compartment, police found 688 kilograms of cocaine and a firearm. During the stop, police arrested a 45-year-old man from Barcelona and a 29-year-old man from Bilthoven.
Authorities later discovered 2,535 kilograms of cocaine in a press container inside the Klundert warehouse. A press container is typically used to compact waste. Another firearm was also found in the warehouse.
Additional arrests were made there, including a 43-year-old man from Rotterdam and two men, ages 31 and 29, with no fixed address. Three more men were detained in Bergen op Zoom: a 44-year-old from Dordrecht, a 46-year-old from Rotterdam, and a 39-year-old from Bergen op Zoom. All eight suspects are in custody. The seized drugs have been destroyed, officials said.
