German customs officials have discovered 400 kilograms of heroin during an inspection of a container in the port of Hamburg.

The drugs were hidden in rolls of paper for the printing industry, authorities reported on Wednesday.

The container, which originated in Singapore, had previously been checked in an X-ray facility on December 5. For investigative reasons, the report has only now been made public.

According to customs officials, it is one of the largest single heroin seizures in Germany in recent years. The drugs were packed into 400 individual parcels and are estimated to have a street value of around €32 million ($38 million).

In comparison, the Federal Criminal Police Office says a total of about 144 kilograms of heroin was seized nationwide in all of 2024.

Following intensive investigations, customs investigators searched several residential and business premises in Bremen, Bremerhaven and Osterholz-Scharmbeck on January 21.

Electronic evidence was seized in the process and is now being analysed. The investigations are being carried out on behalf of the Bremen public prosecutor’s office.

“The success of the investigation so far is a significant blow against organized crime and impressively demonstrates the successful work of German customs in the fight against cross-border crime,” said Tino Igelmann, head of the Customs Criminal Investigation Office in Cologne.

-dpa