Hundreds of kilos of cocaine found in Volkswagen Beetle shipment

A shipment of Volkswagen Beetles was found to be hiding 325 kilograms of cocaine. The consignment originated in South America and arrived at the Port of Rotterdam, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM) said.

The cocaine carried a street value of between 13 and 22 million euros, according to addiction advocacy center Jellinek. The drugs were discovered during an inspection at the port on Monday evening, and were subsequently seized and destroyed, the OM said.

Authorities on Tuesday were still trying to determine who the cars were being delivered to, with a joint task force taking up the investigation. The Hit-and-Run Cargo Team, or HARC, is a combined effort by the Rotterdam OM, Customs officers, the tax and financial crimes inspectorate FIOD, and the port police.

Another 370 kilograms of cocaine were found in two separate shipments last week, including 300 kilos found in frozen concentrated orange juice. The rest was found in a shipment of iron-nickel alloy.