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Wooden panels confiscated: Here the perpetrators are said to have hidden the cocaine
Photo: AFP
Bolivia has reported the largest cocaine find in its history. 8.7 tons of cocaine destined for the Netherlands were seized, according to Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo. The cocaine has a street value of around 526 million dollars (480 million euros) in Europe.
The cocaine was found on December 30 on an Andean road, said the minister of the South American country. It was discovered in a shipment of wooden panels destined for Europe. According to the minister, four people were detained. Among them is a Colombian who is a "big fish of the drug trade".
Bolivian President Luis Arce said his country was making "historic progress" in the fight against drug trafficking. The investigation into the case was ongoing.
According to the UN, Bolivia is the world's third-largest producer of coca leaves and cocaine after Colombia and Peru. The country allows the cultivation and distribution of coca leaves for chewing, tea and religious rituals. The acreage for the legal market is limited to 22,200 hectares, but some of the coca leaves are diverted for illegal cocaine production.
2023: 35 tons of cocaine seized in Germany
In 2023, a record amount of cocaine had been seized in Germany: According to a preliminary forecast by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the drug finds add up to a total of 35 tons, a BKA spokesman said. The North German Broadcasting Corporation (NDR) had reported before Christmas that the total amount for 2023 could even be as high as 40 tons. In the previous year, around 20 tonnes had been intercepted. The previous record volume was 2021 tonnes in 23.
The majority of cocaine comes to Germany from South America via the container ports, especially Hamburg in addition to Bremerhaven. The perpetrators often smuggled the drugs in banana or bulk containers, for example in the walls and spaces between the steel boxes.
ptz/AFP