The police arrested a 45-year-old man from Breda after a substantial cocaine find in the port of Rotterdam. It concerns 1350 kilos with a street value of 100 million euros, according to customs. A resident of Rotterdam has also been arrested.
The find was already made on Tuesday but has only now been made public, probably because of the investigation.
The police received a report via the system of the automatic cameras that hang above highways. Why that system gave a hit has not been disclosed. There was something suspicious going on, so officers went after the truck with sea container.
Driver
When the truck arrived at a warehouse in Rotterdam, the papers were checked and the load examined. The officers soon discovered that it contained drugs.
The customs assistance team arrived and drove the car to a safe place for further investigation. There the drugs appeared and it turned out to be 1350 kilos of cocaine.
The resident of Breda was arrested as the driver of the truck, De Rotterdammer was also in the shed. They have been arraigned and must be held in pre-trial detention for at least another 14 days. The drugs have been destroyed. No photos of the find have been circulated. That often happens.
Million dollar value
According to customs, everything has a value of 100 million euros. It is not stated how that is calculated, but it seems that customs assume a high street value.
In the ‘wholesaler’ sector, 25,000 euros per kilo (‘block’) is charged. That would be 33 million. On the street, the drugs are adulterated with other substances and are always worth much more, at least double that. In other countries, the price for customers is often even higher.
It is the second major catch in the region in a short time. A few days ago, 1,822 kilos of coke were found in Barendrecht. Every year more coke is intercepted in the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.