Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 06, 2025

Police in Germany and Belgium make Europe's biggest ever cocaine bust

Police in Germany and Belgium make Europe's biggest ever cocaine bust

Authorities in Germany and Belgium seized more than 23,000 kilograms (50,700 pounds) of cocaine, worth billions of dollars, in an international operation that resulted in one arrest, officials said Wednesday, calling it the largest amount of cocaine ever seized in Europe.

The operation lasted more than week and culminated in the arrest Wednesday of a 28-year-old man from Vlaardingden, the Netherlands, whose address was on the shipment, Dutch police said.

Investigators found 16,174 kilograms of cocaine in 1,728 cans of putty.


Working on a tip from colleagues in the Netherlands, customs officers in the German port city of Hamburg opened three containers listed as containing construction putty, German Customs Investigation head Rene Matschke told CNN. In the container testing facility, they found that the cans were loaded not only with putty but also with packages of cocaine.

Investigators found 16,174 kilograms (35,658 pounds) of cocaine, hidden in 1,728 cans of construction putty. The containers came on a ship from Paraguay, via Tangier and Rotterdam, the police said.

It was "pretty disgusting to separate the cocaine from the putty as it is so sticky," Matschke told CNN, adding that the the drugs would have a street value of several billion euros.

Police say the cocaine seizure is the largest ever confiscated in Europe.


The Dutch police said a "risk analysis" they carried out led German authorities to check the three containers on February 12.

Dutch authorities said that following that seizure, they began an investigation into the recipient of the Hamburg shipment, which led them to 11 containers on their way from Panama to Antwerp, ostensibly filled with pineapple, mackerel, squid and wood.

Belgian authorities on Saturday found 7,200 kilograms (15,873 pounds) of cocaine in the container carrying blocks of wood, according to the Dutch police.

"The intercepted mega-shipments to the Netherlands together form an absolute record," the Dutch police said in a statement. "Never before has so much cocaine been intercepted at once."

Officials said it was not only the largest seizure of cocaine ever in Europe, but one of the largest single seizures worldwide.

Rolf Bösinger, State Secretary in Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance, praised the customs officers, saying: "We have succeeded in seizing a record amount of cocaine. With this blow against organized narcotics crime -- also thanks to the exemplary cooperation with European partner authorities -- German

Customs has once again impressively demonstrated its clout. Our strategy of continuing to massively strengthen customs is working."

Hamburg customs officers handle about eight million containers a year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×