German and Belgian authorities seized more than 23,000 kilos of cocaine (50,000) in what is the largest drug bust in European history.
Authorities seized the shipment worth billions of dollars during a joint operation in the German port city of Hamburg.
Customs and anti-drug operatives from both countries have reportedly been tracking down the shipments for more than a week. The operation culminated in the arrest of one man and the seizure of the drug shipments on Thursday.
Authorities arrested a 28-year-old man living in Vlaardingden, whose name and address were on the shipment. Dutch police said that they had informed their counterparts in Germany on when and where the shipment was set to arrive.
German Customs Investigation head, Rene Matschke, said that they had intercepted a shipment of three containers, which were declared to be construction putty.
Customs officer opened the containers and found several bags of cocaine hidden under the construction putty. Officers found a total of 16,174 kilos of cocaine hidden under 1,728 cans of construction putty.
Customs officials said that the containers were shipped from Paraguay and passed through Tangier and Rotterdam before they arrived in Germany.
Dutch authorities said that they are currently investigating the recipient of the shipment. Their investigation has also led them to halt the shipment of several containers coming from Panama, including 11 containers that reportedly contained wood, pineapple, mackerel, and squid.
Over the weekend, Belgian authorities found 7,200 kilos of cocaine inside a container that was declared to contain only blocks of wood.
"The intercepted mega-shipments to the Netherlands together form an absolute record. Never before has so much cocaine been intercepted at once," Dutch officials said.
Officials said that the seizures were not only the largest ever in Europe but also one of the largest single seizures in the world.
The State Secretary in Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance, Rolf Bösinger, praised the customs officials for their work. Bösinger said that the seizure should deal a substantial blow against organized narcotics crime.
"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," Bösinger said.
