German customs destroys drugs valued at $592 million

BERLIN – German authorities say customs officials in the Hamburg area have destroyed nine tons of drugs with an estimated total street value of about 520 million euros ($592 million).

The Hamburg customs office said Thursday that the drugs were destroyed last week in an undercover operation with armed escorts that was undertaken after proceedings in various legal cases in northern Germany had been concluded. It didn’t give any details of those cases.

In all, 2,400 kilos (5,291 pounds) of cocaine and 6,700 kilos (14,770 pounds) of APAAN — a substance used in making methamphetamine — were incinerated.