Germany seizes 3.8 tonnes of cocaine at Hamburg port

Berlin, July 20 (IANS) The German customs authorities on Thursday seized 3.8 tonnes of cocaine at Hamburg port in the largest drug shipment they had so far intercepted, officials said.

The massive haul arrived from Uruguay and Paraguay, according to statements by German Customs Director Uwe Schr?der and German Finance Secretary of State Werner Gatzer at a press conference in Hamburg, Efe news reported.

"In total 3.8 tonnes of cocaine wrapped in colourful packs were exhibited by the Hamburg Customs Authority on wooden pallets after three operations at the port," an official customs tweet said along with a photograph of the drug haul.

The impounded cocaine had an 85-90 per cent purity and would have been worth some 800 million euro ($920 million) at street market prices.

The cocaine arrived in Hamburg on board shipping containers whose cargo manifests described the contents as pet food and coal. Its final destination, according to reports, was not Germany but Belgium.

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