Hamburg police dismantle large‑scale cocaine smuggling network

Police from the Federal Criminal Office (BKA) and Hamburg authorities carried out a coordinated raid on a suspected cocaine‑smuggling ring operating through North Sea ports. The operation spanned 16 premises in northern Germany and Switzerland, targeting import and shell companies that allegedly used the international fruit trade to conceal shipments of cocaine in tonnage from South America.

Three men were arrested in Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig‑Holstein under arrest warrants from the Hamburg Regional Court. Investigators seized mobile phones, computers, shipping documents and assets worth six figures. The raid involved the BKA, Federal Police, customs, and police forces from several German states as well as Swiss law‑enforcement partners. Authorities said the case illustrates how transnational drug networks exploit legitimate corporate structures to obscure large‑scale narcotics trafficking.

The operation follows earlier investigations that linked the same network to other drug‑related offenses, underscoring a broader crackdown on organized crime in the region.