ROTTERDAM – Dutch customs authorities have seized 365 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a shipping container carrying household goods from Curaçao, in a case that led to four arrests in the Netherlands.
The drugs were discovered on April 4 during an inspection at the Port of Rotterdam, one of Europe’s largest cargo hubs.
According to investigators, the container was part of a shipment originating from Curaçao and was declared as containing moving goods.
The case was subsequently taken over by the HARC team, the Dutch joint anti-drug task force made up of customs, police, the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service and the Public Prosecution Service.
Their investigation revealed that the container was destined for an address in the Achterhoek region, in the eastern Netherlands.
On April 22, Dutch police arrested four suspects while they were unloading the container in the town of Lochem.
The suspects include a 29-year-old woman and three men aged 29, 38 and 44.
Authorities confirmed that all four were born in Curaçao and are suspected of involvement in the importation of cocaine.
According to the Public Prosecution Service Netherlands, the case is part of a broader anti-drug operation linked to the same vessel.
Earlier inspections on the same ship, also arriving from Curaçao, led to the seizure of approximately 1,400 kilograms of cocaine hidden in other containers.
That brings the total amount of cocaine intercepted from that vessel to more than 1.7 tons.
The suspects remain in custody and are expected to remain detained for at least another two weeks while the investigation continues.
Authorities say additional arrests have not been ruled out.
The seized cocaine has since been destroyed.
The case once again highlights Curaçao’s continued vulnerability as a transit point in international narcotics trafficking routes between Latin America and Europe, a problem that has drawn increasing attention from law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Atlantic.