Dutch Catch Smugglers Throwing Drugs into the North Sea from Containership
A drug intervention team in the Netherlands reports it was able to catch smugglers “red-handed” aboard the ocean-going vessel tossing narcotics overboard into the North Sea. The operation took place on Sunday, March 15, off the coast of the Zeeland province near Neltje Jans, report prosecutors in Amsterdam.
According to the announcement, five individuals were caught in the act as part of an intensive operation in the North Sea. The five suspects range in age from 34 to 61 years and are residents of cities in the Netherlands.
They were caught throwing bundles overboard from an unnamed containership that was sailing along the Dutch coast. The police call this technique the “drop-off method,” in which smaller, faster boats pick up the packages from the sea and ferry them to shore.
During the operation, prosecutors report that it was established that a shipment of hundreds of kilos of cocaine was being transferred using this method. In addition to the five suspects, they also seized a fast motorboat. The police said they suspect the boat was purchased through a “sham arrangement.”
The Amsterdam Public Prosecution Service is leading the investigation. It was withholding further information pending the outcome of the investigation.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
The method has become common with smugglers in all parts of the world. Australian authorities have reported finding large bundles floating in the ocean secured with flotation and tracking devices. Last year, a report for a beached small boat was revealed to be part of a failed retrieval effort.
In July 2025, Spanish police discovered, when they boarded a containership, that a drug cartel had already been aboard and removed cocaine hidden in a container. They suspect it was part of a rivalry between gangs, and the boarders fled, leaving some of the cocaine sitting on the deck. In January, Spanish authorities broke up a large smuggling ring that they said was using the “monkey” method of swimmers taking the drugs to the ships in the Americas and others boarding the ships and offloading the drugs in Europe.