Customs officers have seized nearly €11 million worth of cocaine hidden in a shipment of fruit at Vlissingen harbour.

The public prosecution service said the drugs were intercepted during a routine inspection as they were being transported from Peru to a company in Germany.

Police officers were called in to help customs officers recover and destroy the 428kg haul.

Vlissingen has become a hotspot for drug traffickers as checks have been stepped up in Rotterdam and Amsterdam in recent years. Since 2023 the port has had its own 25-man police team to deal with the illicit trade.

Last November 1,575kg of cocaine, worth nearly €120 million, were found in pallets of fruit heading from Columbia to Germany, while in June a 3,600kg haul was intercepted on its way from Ecuador to Germany in a consignment of bananas.