Police and customs officials have seized 1.6 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of some €40m, hidden in a shipment of bananas from Costa Rica.

The bananas were in a container at Rotterdam port, but were allowed through so that police could check where they were being taken too. Police followed the shipment to a warehouse in Dordrecht, where they arrested a 40-year-old Bulgarian national.

Police have not given any details about the eventual destination of the drugs, in the interest of the investigation.

In February the public prosecution department said officials had found a record 19 tonnes of cocaine hidden in shipments at Rotterdam port last year.

In total,18,947 kilos of cocaine were discovered in 109 separate deliveries. This is three times the amount of the drug found in 2017.