Drugs
Colombian authorities reported record cocaine find
Police officers in protective suits load seized cocaine (unknown location, unknown date). Photo
© Ministry of the Interior of Baden-Württemberg/dpa
More than 35 tons of cocaine were seized. Investigators estimated the street value at 2.6 billion euros.
The largest to date Cocaine discovery in an investigation in Germany is based on a tip from the Colombian authorities.
The German investigative authorities in Düsseldorf announced that more than 35 tons of cocaine were involved. The drugs were hidden in sea containers between fruit crates and other goods. Nine out of ten containers were intercepted. The investigators estimated the street value of the drug quantity at 2.6 billion euros.
Drug investigators seized almost 25 tons of cocaine in the port of Hamburg last year, a further eight tons in Rotterdam and almost three tons in Colombia. Eight suspects aged between 30 and 54 are said to be behind the smuggling. To give the appearance of legality to the transports, a businessman from North Rhine-Westphalia set up 100 companies as letterbox companies.
Months of investigation followed, and then a few days ago searches in seven federal states and seven arrests. The investigation “OP Plexus” was conducted by the Central Office for Organized Crime at the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office. Officers were deployed in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hesse and Lower Saxony to carry out raids in connection with the cocaine find.