Nearly 1,600 kg of cocaine found in shipments of car tires, fruit at Rotterdam port

Customs inspections at the Port of Rotterdam led to the discovery of 1,574 kilograms of cocaine this week. The drugs have a combined street value of roughly 118 million euros, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said.

The first batch was by far the biggest, weighing 1,124 kilograms and valued at 84.3 million euros. It was found on Tuesday in a sea container loaded with car tires. The sea container was on a ship that arrived from Turkey, and the paperwork showed the cargo was to be delivered to a company in Hellevoetsluis, southwest of Rotterdam.

Customs officials believe that the drugs were sent in a container as part of a scheme where a drug trafficking ring sends people to the port to extract the cocaine before the authorities catch on to the plot. The scheme calls for the extractors and organizers to alter another container brought onto the port to make it appear identical to the original, sometimes including the container number and check digit to trick port workers. In past schemes, cloned containers have even had extra items added to them as a way of making their weight identical to the original shipment.

Dutch authorities have begun referring to the method as a "switchpartij," or a "switch batch," when translated to English. "During a check with narcotics-sniffing dogs, Customs found 23 large bales and 19 sports bags of cocaine on the car tires," the OM said. "In the past few days, many extractors were once again arrested by Customs and the police." It is not yet clear if those arrested are connected to the shipment.

A day later, another 450 kilograms of cocaine was found hidden in a consignment of preserved fruit stored in barrels. The sea container originated in Guatemala, and was transferred in Panama to a ship headed for Rotterdam before moving on to Antwerp. Customs officials checked the container in Rotterdam, where they found 14 boxes holding black duffel bags filled with cocaine. The drugs were valued at roughly 34 million euros.

The shipment was destined for commercial property in Germany, the OM stated. However, the recipient is not believed to be involved in the the drug trafficking scheme.

All 1,574 kilograms of cocaine were destroyed. The drugs in each case were found by the Rotterdam port's Hit-and-Run Cargo Team, comprised of officials from Customs, the Seaport Police, the Public Prosecution Service and FIOD, the financial crimes inspectorate.