Port of Hamburg: 1.5 tonnes of cocaine found on CMA CGM boxship

Germany’s customs and police officers have seized around 1.5 tonnes of cocaine discovered on board a container vessel at the Port of Hamburg, a spokesperson for the Customs Office in Hamburg confirmed to Offshore Energy.

The cocaine was hidden in “bags with strange logos” in a container on board a containership docked at the port, Hamburger Abenddblatt reported.

The street value of the cocaine is estimated at EUR 300 million.

This is one of the largest amounts of illicit drugs ever seized at the port, following the seizure of 4.5 tons of cocaine on board a containership in Hamburg a year ago.

According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, the container with the hidden cocaine arrived in Hamburg on board CMA CGM Jean Gabriel in late June 2020. From there, it was expected to be reloaded onto another ship destined for Poland.

Flying the flag of Malta, the 10,926 TEU CMA CGM Jean Gabriel is operated by French shipping giant CMA CGM and owned by China’s Bank of Communications, VesselsValue’s data shows.

Offshore Energy approached CMA CGM for a comment on the matter, however, the company is yet to reply.