European authorities on Wednesday seized more than 50,000 pounds of cocaine worth billions of euros, calling it the largest such bust the continent has ever seen.
CNN reported that authorities in Germany and Belgium carried out the seizure in an operation that lasted more than a week and led to the arrest of a man from the Netherlands.
German head of Customs Investigations Rene Matschke told CNN that Hamburg authorities opened three containers that were listed as containing construction putty, offering advice from Dutch colleagues.
Although the construction putty was actually found inside the containers, so were the cocaine packages.
According to Matschke, it was “quite disgusting to separate cocaine from putty because it is so sticky.”
CNN reports that 35,658 pounds of cocaine were found in construction putty containers.
The seizure in Hamburg led authorities to another shipment of 11 containers en route to Antwerp from Panama. Belgian authorities found another 15,873 pounds of cocaine in Panamanian transport.
These seizures amount not only to the largest amount of drugs intercepted by European authorities, but probably to one of the largest seizures in the world, according to CNN.
“We have managed to seize a record amount of cocaine. With this blow against organized crime with narcotics – also thanks to exemplary cooperation with European partner authorities – German customs has once again demonstrated its impressive influence. Our strategy to continue the massive consolidation of customs is working, “said Rolf Bösinger, German secretary of state at the Federal Ministry of Finance.