Customs investigators have found over 700 kilos of cocaine hidden among a shipment of bananas in a container in Vlissingen, the second such haul in the port in a few weeks.

At the end of April officials found 655 kilos of the drug hidden among bananas. The most recent find had a street value of €53 million, police said.

Police have also been busy in recent days dealing with youngsters who have been brought in by drugs gangs to remove the drugs from containers once they have arrived. Until now this has mainly been a problem in Rotterdam.

According to broadcaster NOS, at least 12 people have been arrested at the port at night in the last few days, the youngest of which was a 15-year-old boy.

Last year, officials found almost four tonnes of cocaine at Vlissingen port, a sharp rise on the 2021 haul of 250 kilos but well below the 47 tonnes of cocaine seized in Rotterdam.

By contrast, seizures at Antwerp port reached a record 110 tonnes, compared with 90 tonnes in 2021, according to the Belgian authorities.