North Rhine-Westphalia Half a billion euros worth of cocaine seized
German customs in Wilhelmshaven have made one of the biggest cocaine finds in recent years:
03.06.2026, 12:56
SDA
More than eight tons of the drug with an estimated street value of around 500 million euros were seized, according to the German authorities. The discovery in the Jade-Weser port was previously kept secret for investigative reasons and was made on February 9.
Thanks to subsequent international cooperation, two suspected masterminds were finally arrested by Spanish authorities in mid-May during a fictitious container handover in the Spanish province of Almería.
One of the suspects is the managing director of an import company. According to customs and the public prosecutor's office, the drugs were in a sea container from West Africa which, according to the shipping documents, was loaded with cocoa beans and destined for Spain.
According to the main customs office in Oldenburg, the inspection unit noticed irregularities during X-raying, whereupon officials discovered over 400 packages wrapped in black foil.
Each package reportedly contained around 20 hard-pressed cocaine blocks. In order to rule out a violent retrieval attempt by criminals, the drugs were destroyed in Germany under strict security precautions.
The criminals had fitted the packages with GPS transmitters so that the location of the cargo could be monitored at all times.
