crime
Customs finds half a ton of cocaine in Hamburg harbor
The blocks of cocaine were hidden in banana crates. photo
© Customs Investigation Office Frankfurt/Main/ Customs Investigation Office Frankfurt/Main/dpa
Hamburg customs found 520 packets of cocaine hidden between bananas in a container. The shipment was addressed to a Frankfurt company.
Forces from the Frankfurt am Main customs investigation office as well as the Frankfurt police headquarters, the Hamburg customs investigation office and the Cologne public prosecutor’s office were involved in the operation as part of the Joint Drug Investigation Group (GER). According to the information, the Hamburg main customs office already checked the container loaded with bananas in the port of Hamburg on January 4th. 520 blocks of cocaine were found hidden in the boxes.
According to the statement, the GER Frankfurt am Main then took over the further investigation because the banana shipment was addressed to a company based in Frankfurt. Four men between the ages of 36 and 57 from Cologne, Leverkusen, Wuppertal and Hamburg were identified as suspects and were arrested in Hamburg on January 11th. They are accused of the unauthorized importation and illegal trafficking of narcotics in large quantities. An arrest warrant was issued against her the next day.
In addition, officers confiscated a total of more than 30,000 euros in cash and electronic storage media during house searches in Hamburg, Leverkusen, Wuppertal and Dortmund, among others, as the main customs office in Frankfurt am Main announced. For tactical reasons, the publication was only made at this point in time. The investigators initially did not want to provide any further information.