Police have busted three suspected drug traffickers after they found over EUR 1.2 million of drugs hidden in tomato crates in the back of a lorry.

The bust took place near the city of Braunschweig in the German state of Lower Saxony, when the police searched the lorry at a rest area on the A1 motorway on Friday evening, 11th February, the police announced on Tuesday.

The Braunschweig police said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “With the confiscation of 143 kilogrammes [315 lbs] of marijuana, 50 kilogrammes [110 lbs] of hashish and the simultaneous arrests of three suspects, investigators from the Braunschweig Central Criminal Police Inspectorate (ZKI) in cooperation with the Polish Department for Organised Crime in Gdansk and the Braunschweig Public Prosecutor’s Office succeeded in striking a blow against the international drug trade.”

The police said investigations had begun in September 2021 against a 43-year-old suspect, who has not been named but who they suspected of “running a flourishing illegal trade in narcotics”. The police said they also investigated the suspect’s use of encrypted communication methods.

The police said they had arrested a “buyer” in the vicinity of the 43-year-old suspect on 21st December 2021. They said the buyer “was arrested after handing over 15 kilogrammes [33 lbs] of cannabis and a further 50 kilogrammes [110 lbs] of cannabis were secured in a garage in Braunschweig”.

The police then said they had arrested three suspects at the rest area on the A1 federal highway. They said a Polish lorry “with a refrigerated trailer had previously crossed the border from France to Germany. The driver of the truck met the 43-year-old from Braunschweig at a rest stop near Freiburg/Breisgau. Another meeting took place at a rest area on the BAB 1 northeast of Hamburg. Here, in addition to the suspect from Braunschweig, the 41-year-old truck driver and another 28-year-old person involved in the crime were arrested.

“During the subsequent inspection of the refrigerated trailer, the investigators found the narcotics hidden in tomato crates.”

The police said the drugs were worth approximately EUR 1.2 million (GBP 1 million). The names of the three suspects were not revealed due to strict local privacy laws.

Police President Michael Pientka thanked the Polish police and praised international cooperation in tackling the global drug trade.