365 kilos of cocaine in household shipment from Curaçao leads to four arrests in Lochem

Dutch authorities have arrested four suspects in Lochem after uncovering 365 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a shipment of household goods from Curaçao, a seizure that adds to a larger haul of 1,400 kilograms found earlier this month in the port of Rotterdam, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) reported.

On April 4, Customs officials discovered the drugs during an inspection of shipping containers that had arrived in Rotterdam from Curaçao. During the inspection, officers found the cocaine hidden inside a container filled with household belongings being transported as part of a relocation shipment.

On Wednesday, April 22, police arrested four suspects at a home in Lochem while they were unloading the container. The suspects are a 29-year-old woman and three men aged 29, 38, and 44. All four were born in Curaçao and are suspected of importing the drugs.

The suspects appeared before an examining magistrate on Friday, April 24. The magistrate ordered them to remain in custody for an additional 14 days.

The 365-kilogram seizure comes on top of an earlier announcement by the OM that 1,400 kilograms of cocaine had been found during a large-scale Customs operation in the port of Rotterdam on April 4. That earlier seizure involved multiple containers on the same ship from Curaçao.

The HARC team, a 29-year partnership involving Customs, FIOD, the port police, and the OM in Rotterdam, is investigating the case. Authorities said further arrests are possible. The seized drugs have since been destroyed.