A Dutch national travelling by train from Amsterdam to Berlin has been caught with two suitcases containing ecstasy pills and ketamine, German police said.

The 48-year-old man was stopped shortly after crossing the border and found to be carrying 30 kilos of ecstasy and five kilos of ketamine. The drugs had a street value of around €440,000.

The arrest was made on 14 July but has only now been made public.

The man “initially claimed that the luggage had merely been handed over to him and that he therefore did not know the combination codes for the attached locks,” the police statement said. “When customs officers insisted he open the suitcases, the suspect complied.”

Police did not say why he was singled out for checks.