As of: September 27, 2024 3:22 p.m
Police and customs officials found 2.1 tons of cocaine in a joint operation in Hamburg. The drug was seized on Wednesday during a spectacular operation in the Rothenburgsort district and presented on Friday.
“Our security authorities have succeeded in striking a relevant blow against organized drug crime,” said Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD). “It is an outstanding success and one of the largest seizures in an ongoing operation in which suspects were also arrested,” he explained.
Twelve suspects arrested
According to the police, a total of twelve suspects were arrested in connection with the operation in Rothenburgsort, including the driver of the truck and his boss. According to police, the cocaine has a street value of around 100 million euros. It was hidden in banana crates in a shipping container.
SEK operation in the backyard of a shipping company
When the truck with the container was supposed to drive from the Altenwerder terminal to the container testing facility, the truck driver deviated from the route and stopped in a warehouse in the backyard of a shipping company. There the criminals wanted to exchange the drugs for bananas. But when the truck was about to be unloaded, the special operations command (SEK) intervened.
AUDIO: Big cocaine discovery: Strike against drug trafficking in Hamburg (1 min)
Information from other European countries
The police operation was preceded by undercover investigations since August. The officials had received information from other European countries. The head of the State Criminal Police Office, Jan Hieber, described the operation as a “journeyman’s piece” of the police port security center that opened in May.
More information
Heavily armed special forces secured the load of a truck. The police and customs authorities may have succeeded in striking a blow against the organized drug trade. (09/25/2024) more
In the port security center in the Speicherstadt, police, customs, port administration and handling companies are supposed to work closely together. (05/31/2024) more
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NDR 90.3 | NDR 90.3 Current | Sep 27, 2024 | 3:00 p.m
