Five men have been arrested off the coast of Zeeland after being caught in the act of dropping off a shipment of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine.

Coastguard helicopters intercepted the men as they threw packages of cocaine over the side of a container ship to be collected by smaller boats, known as the “drop-off method”.

The arrests were the culmination of a joint operation by police, the coastguard and the financial investigation service FIOD. The five suspects are aged between 34 and 61 from Almere, Oostzaan, Beverwijk and Haarlem.

A speedboat was also confiscated that prosecutors suspect was purchased illegally. The drugs have also been seized.