Port of Rotterdam: Sting operation intercepts 23kg of cocaine

Dutch investigators utilized a sting operation in the Port of Rotterdam to intercept 23 kilograms of cocaine. The operation began after customs officials in Sint Maarten discovered the drugs hidden in a sports bag inside a container traveling from Curaçao.

To identify the perpetrators, the HARC team replaced the real cocaine with dummy packages once the container arrived at the Rotterdam Waalhaven terminal. Surveillance footage captured two men, aged 28 and 39, leaving the terminal with the bags. The suspects, who were seconded to the terminal for work, abandoned their vehicles in the Agniesebuurt district of Rotterdam.

Prosecutors state there is sufficient evidence to hold the men responsible for the importation. Digital evidence, including chat messages on a suspect's phone, reportedly shows familiarity with methods for hiding cocaine in empty containers.