Germany seizes record 4.5 tons of cocaine

BERLIN

German authorities announced on Friday that they seized a record four and a half tons of cocaine in the port of Hamburg.

The estimated street value of the cocaine was nearly €1 billion ($1.1 billion), making it the largest drug bust in Germany’s history.

The drugs were found two weeks ago when customs officials checked a freight container shipped from Uruguay to Belgium, Germany’s customs authority (Zollamt) said in a statement.

Packages containing the drugs were hidden in more than 200 sports bags, according to the statement.