Germany: Two tons of cocaine worth €100 million are seized by Hamburg police
Beneath stacked banana boxes within a shipping container close to Hamburg’s port, the cocaine was concealed. According to police, weeks of undercover investigation led to the drug haul.After receiving a tip from Colombian authorities, prosecutors in the western city of Duesseldorf claimed to have confiscated 35.5 metric tons (39 U.S. tons) of cocaine last year. They also reported discovering 25 tons of cocaine in the port of Hamburg, a further 8 tons in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and nearly 3 tons in Colombia. The medications were concealed among fruits and vegetables.
The drug seizures had not previously been announced.
The suspects, who range in age from 30 to 54, were apprehended recently and are thought to have been responsible for the smuggling. The seven are nationals of Germany, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Morocco, Turkey, and Ukraine, according to a statement from the prosecutors. In accordance with German privacy regulations, their identities were not revealed.
According to them, a businessman from North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany established 100 letterbox companies to give the impression that the transports were lawful.
Prosecutors said in a written statement that the suspects are specifically charged with planning the transportation of ten sea containers filled with large amounts of cocaine from Latin America to Europe between April and September 2023, along with other unidentified accomplices who are allegedly living in Turkey and who they believe were involved in the scheme.
The state justice minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Benjamin Limbach, praised the huge cocaine seizure at a news conference in Duesseldorf.
According to Limbach, “this is a blow to international organized criminality.” “It’s a precise punch in the jaw that hurts the drug lords.”
