4,500 KILOS OF COCAINE SEIZED IN NETHERLANDS

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 002455 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/UBI, INL DOJ FOR JUDI FRIEDMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR CO NL VZ SUBJECT: 4,500 KILOS OF COCAINE SEIZED IN NETHERLANDS ¶1. Dutch police have seized 4,500 kilos of cocaine - the largest cocaine seizure on record in the Netherlands - at the port of Rotterdam. Police kept the August 3 seizure under wraps until the September 4 arrests of 13 suspects from the Netherlands and Colombia. ¶2. The cocaine, hidden inside two large steel cable spools, is worth an estimated 273 million dollars. Loading papers indicated the shipment originated in Venezuela and was destined for Iraq via Rotterdam and Antwerp, according to a Justice Ministry official. Police said the cocaine was in fact destined for European distribution through Belgium. ¶2. The seizure was the result of an investigation into a Spanish cell of the Wilmer Varela North Valley Colombian Cartel that involved DEA offices in Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands and law enforcement agencies in the same countries. The investigation began a year ago in September ¶2004. ¶2. COMMENT: The seizure demonstrates the ability of DEA and the Dutch law enforcement to disrupt a major international cocaine organization through solid cooperation, and provides a concrete example of what the Dutch are doing right. Post recommends we highlight this unprecedented seizure when discussing Dutch counter-narcotics cooperation. BLAKEMAN