Five suspected drug traffickers have been arrested after police seized a record 700-kilogramme heroin stash at a German port.
The Federal Criminal Police Office announced that the haul – around 700 kilogrammes (1,543 lbs) – was discovered at Hamburg port at the end of August.
The authority underlined that this was the largest amount of heroin confiscated on a single occasion.
The drugs were shipped into the country from Iran, according to the Dresden state prosecutors, who led the investigation.
Now prosecutors in Dresden, Saxony, said that homes and commercial estates in Dresden, Hamburg, Chemnitz and in the Netherlands were searched as part of the anti-drug operation.
Special police forces arrested five men aged between 35 and 54 suspected of drug trafficking in Germany, Spain and in the Netherlands in the past days, with the first arrest taking place on 8th September.
The suspects come from Iran, Turkey, Serbia and Germany, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has praised the successful operation as a “heavy blow” against internationally operating drug traders.
The Social Democrat said: “The confiscation of such a large amount is evidence of the battle Germany and the whole of Europa have to fight.
“Heroin destroys people’s lives while those who sell it are cashing in.”
A court in Dresden is to decide in the coming days whether the men arrested in Germany must remain in custody.
Dresden prosecutors have meanwhile asked for an extradition of the suspects arrested abroad.
The Dresden state prosecution took over from their counterparts in Wiesbaden, in the state of Hesse, after it had become clear that the drugs were destined for the Dresden area.
Saxon authorities cooperated with the federal police and Hamburg customs officials as well as with Spanish and Dutch police.
No pictures showing the anti-drug operation at Hamburg port or the arrests have been released.
German authorities did not indicate either where exactly the heroin had been stashed.
Dresden prosecutors said they were unable to say when the suspects would be charged as investigations into the case continue.
