Communications chief Carlos Denvers said: “Many unknown individuals tried to transfer the drugs to another container that would be shipped on a vessel to Belgium.”
The haul far exceeds the 2,580kg seizure made by Dominican authorities at the same port in 2006.
Monitoring agencies have reported that the Caribbean is resurfacing as a major drug trafficking route from Colombia to Europe.
A report last year found the use of cocaine is increasing in several western European countries including the UK, Belgium, France and Spain.
Europe accounted for 21% of the world’s cocaine users in 2020, according to a United Nations report, external.
Evidence suggests use of the drug is bringing dire health consequences, with recent data showing drug-poisoning deaths in England and Wales hit the highest level in 30 years, fuelled by a 30% rise in fatalities involving cocaine.
