Amsterdam police have found €1.3m in cash hidden in a secret space under the spare wheel in a car driven by a suspected drugs dealer.

The 32-year-old man from Albania was one of three people arrested last week during a drugs investigation in the city.

Police arrested him and two others, a 36-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, following a raid on a house in the Slotervaart district of the city. The raid turned up 13 kilos of cocaine, a gun, knives and €40,000 in cash.

The big money was discovered when a sniffer dog went through the Saab the 32-year-old had been driving. The cash, in stacks of euro notes, was found in a specially-constructed compartment in the boot.

The woman has since been released but the two men remain in custody. They are suspected of dealing in hard drugs and money laundering.