Customs officials at Vlissingen port have seized almost 500 kilos of cocaine which had been hidden in a consignment of bananas from Ecuador, the public prosecution department has confirmed.

The haul, the first drugs seizure of the year in Vlissingen, was intercepted on Saturday and has a street value of some €37 million.

The bananas were on their way to a company in Germany which probably had nothing to do with the efforts to bring in cocaine, the prosecution department said.

Last year, over 11 tonnes of cocaine were found in shipments arriving at the Zeeland port, which is fast becoming the port of choice for cocaine smuggling, according to customs figures.