CUSTOMS officials in the port of Hamburg, Germany, recently made one of the port’s largest drug busts. They discovered more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a container of rice arriving aboard a ship from Guyana.

The investigators estimated the value of the cocaine at more than US$350 million. They assumed that, after reaching Poland, the drugs would have been sold in bulk and ultimately be on the streets across Europe.

The police reported that the container had arrived aboard the CMA CGM Jean Gabriel. After being offloaded in Hamburg, the container was being stored in a container yard. It had been scheduled to be transshipped to Poland.

German investigators reportedly received a confidential tip about the drug smuggling operation and began a thorough search of the container yard.
When the container was examined at the city’s customs office, investigators revealed that they discovered 47 large packages of cocaine hidden between sacks of rice coming from Guyana.
Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster, reported that it was among the largest quantities of cocaine ever seized in Hamburg.

They reported that customs officers seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine, a year ago, in another container in the port; and that originated in Uruguay and was destined for Antwerp.
The customs officials said that the recent discovery was proof that the illegal narcotics business was continuing, despite all the restrictions, due to the global pandemic.