Cocaine worth €65 million found in fruit pallets at Vlissingen port; five arrested
Customs officers intercepted 2,598 kilos of cocaine during an inspection at the port of Vlissingen on February 27. Five men were arrested in connection with the smuggling operation, authorities said. The drugs were concealed in pallets of fruit shipped from Ecuador and destined for a company in Europe, according to the Zeehavenpolitie.
The cocaine, with an estimated wholesale value of 65 million euros, was secured by the Team Bijzondere Bijstand (TBB) and has since been destroyed. The Zeehavenpolitie assisted in securing the port during the operation.
After the cargo first arrived in Vlissingen, it was transported by truck to a warehouse in Ulvenhout, where members of the Dienst Speciale Interventies (DSI) raided the site and took the suspects into custody.
The suspects include two men, aged 30 and 31, with no fixed residence, as well as a 44-year-old man from Dalfsen, a 44-year-old man from Hoevelaken, and a 47-year-old man from Hilversum.
At the warehouse in Ulvenhout, police seized multiple vehicles, including a truck, a truck with a trailer, a horse trailer, a regular trailer, two delivery vans, and a forklift.
