Cops find 800 kg cocaine in back of bus

A 27-year old man from Amsterdam was arrested Wednesday night for possession of 794 kilograms of cocaine in Den Helder, Noord-Holland. The estimated street value of the batch is 28 million euros.

The man was pulled over on suspicion of intoxication for driving his silver van unnecessarily slow and excessively cautious. Officers of the Marechaussee military police searched the vehicle after giving the suspect a breathalyzer test, the public prosecutor states. There, they found packages wrapped in cling film. The suspect claimed that the packages were compressed garbage from a ship and that he had not opened them.

But when investigators opened the packages they found black bags filled with bricks of tightly packed white powder that tested positive for cocaine. Customs and tax authorities brought the man before a Rotterdam magistrate, who remanded him in custody for two weeks as the investigation continues. A similar find was made that same evening by crew members working on a ship in the Den Helder harbor. Workers there found a bag floating in the water stuffed with 24 packets of cocaine.