BERLIN

German customs officers seized 16 tons of cocaine at the port of Hamburg, authorities announced on Wednesday.

“This is the largest amount of cocaine ever seized in Europe, and this amount is also one of the largest individual seizures worldwide,” said the customs office in a statement.

Multiple packets of cocaine were found on Feb. 12 during searches in three containers that came from Paraguay, but authorities did not make the information public due to ongoing joint operations by other European law enforcement agencies, according to the statement.

On Sunday, Belgian police seized nearly 7.2 tons of cocaine at the port of Antwerp, and a 28-year-old suspect was arrested in the Netherlands on Wednesday on suspicion that he was behind the delivery of more than 23 tons of cocaine to Europe.