Police working at the port in Vlissingen took a 41-year-old port worker into custody who was suspected of being connected to a large shipment of cocaine found at the port last week. The man from Borsele was arrested Wednesday morning, exactly seven days after the 1,500 kilogram cocaine shipment was found by Customs officials.
The cocaine was estimated to be worth 110 million euros on the street, the Public Prosecution Service said on the day of the discovery. The cocaine was found in a sea container alongside pallets of bananas. It was destroyed later that day.
An investigation was launched straight away, the police said in an update. Port police tracked down the suspect, but did not immediately say what led them to the man. His home was searched, and he was in custody awaiting interrogation.
In the first half of this year, authorities found nearly 30,000 kilograms of cocaine during Customs inspections in the Netherlands. A report released on Wednesday found that the Vlissingen port is becoming more popular as an importing point for drug traffickers, representing 15 percent of all cocaine found. “That is quite a large number for such a small port,” Customs representative Chris Mels told NOS.
We see that Vlissingen is becoming more popular compared to Rotterdam and Antwerp. Criminals try to land their drugs via other ports, including Vlissingen.” Four cargo ships from South America arrive weekly at Vlissingen, with drugs often found hidden in sea containers or dumped off the ship into the water.
Starting this week, more port police workers have been detailed to the ports in Vlissingen, Borsele, Terneuzen and Moerdijk. Each team is made up of 25 workers, including police officers, detectives, and analysts.
