German customs seize 3.8 tons of cocaine from South America

BERLIN – German customs authorities say they’ve seized over 3.8 tons of cocaine that arrived in Hamburg in shipping containers from South America in three operations earlier this year.

Customs authorities said Thursday that the seizures were made between March and May.

They included Germany’s two biggest-ever single seizures of cocaine: 1.5 tons in March and 1.6 tons in April, both hauls found in containers from Paraguay and hidden in charcoal shipments. The third, 788-kilo (1,737-pound) haul was found in May in a shipment of animal feed from Uruguay.

It’s part of a wider trend toward ever-larger quantities of cocaine being smuggled. German customs say that in previous years they found stashes of 50 to 150 kilos (110 to 330 pounds), but they’re now finding hauls of a ton or more.