German police find record heroin haul in truckload of gherkins and garlic

By Matthias Inverardi in Duesseldorf; Writing by Stephen Brown in Berlin; Editing by Louise Ireland

Oct 09, 2014 11:23 AM EDT

German police find record heroin haul in truckload of gherkins and garlic
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(Photo : REUTERS/REBECCA COOK)

Police have found Germany's biggest-ever stash of heroin, with an estimated street value of 50 million euros ($60 million), hidden in a truckload of pickled cucumbers and garlic.

Police discovered 330 kg (730 lbs) of the drug in a truck in the western city of Essen and arrested two men, public prosecutor Anette Milk said on Thursday. The haul was more than the entire amount of heroin seized in Germany during 2013.

Local media said the drugs came from Iran and the two men arrested were brothers belonging to a Syrian-Iraqi drug gang.

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