Politics German police seizes 4.5 tonnes of cocaine, worth 1 billion €

[muck]

Customs officials in Germany have announced the country's largest ever cocaine haul at the port of Hamburg.

Over four tonnes of the drug were being transported from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Antwerp, Belgium, when they were intercepted by authorities during a routine check two weeks ago.

The shipment, listed as soya beans, was hidden in over 200 black sports bags inside a shipping container.

The drugs have since been destroyed under strict security, officials said.

"Assuming that this likely high-purity cocaine can be cut to triple the amount for street sale, the 4.5 tonnes has a street value of approximately €1 billion", the Hamburg Customs agency said in a statement.

It added that the Hamburg prosecutor's office were now investigating the intended destination of the container.

German officials say the discovery reflects their growing ability to interrupt international drug smuggling. But they also warn that the size of the haul indicates that South American drugs cartels are growing bolder.

That's a lot of snow for the hottest July in recorded history… ?

 

[Ivan le Fou]

Another proof global warming is a hoax.

 

[primer]

How did they know it was high quality.

 

[muck]

Probably the same way they do it in the movies… you know, the detective will lick his finger, shove it into a bag of white poder, put that stuff on his tongue and go: "That's high quality blow."

?

 

[Jake84]

Get a clue: the police know the deal about white powder or the smell of pot and hash.

 

[Ivan le Fou]

Yeah, but REALLY need to be sure.

Smells like the real stuff. But how real and good is it?

It's like wine you see, you can't just smell it.

 

[Bombardier]

Probably the same way they do it in the movies… you know, the detective will lick his finger, shove it into a bag of white poder, put that stuff on his tongue and go: "That's high quality blow."

?

We call that the "Miami Vice Test" here in the UK

 

[primer]

The fact that some crew grew that big it could import $billion makes me wonder about German police efficiency. Also they seem to have some history with Montevideo and those rural areas.

 

[Fish&Chips]

Well, the German police and customs seized a total of 7 tons of coke in 2017 (other substances not included), so that's quite efficient in my book. This big-ass load in a single box looks like some sort of test run rather - or someone in the rural areas simply grew too confident. By the way, these recent 4.5 tons were not bound to a German destination but to Antwerp, Belgium, so that is presumably where the distribution was scheduled to begin.