Customs finds 18 kilos of cocaine on crew member
The drugs were discovered during a routine check of a flight from Mexico.
Customs found 18 kilos of cocaine in the luggage of an airline crew member at Schiphol. Customs made the discovery on Tuesday 29 September; the crew member was arrested.
The drugs were divided among eighteen packages and placed in three pieces of hand luggage. According to Customs, a scan showed anomalies, after which the luggage was examined further. The airline involved has not been named.
The crew member was arrested after the discovery. The cocaine was seized and destroyed, Customs reports. The case has been handed over to the DrugsTeam Schiphol of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, which is conducting the investigation under the direction of the Public Prosecution Service Noord-Holland.
The authorities have said nothing about the crew member's role, the origin of the drugs or possible involvement by others. It is also not known whether the suspect lives in the Netherlands or which airline the person worked for. As long as the investigation is ongoing, there is no basis for drawing conclusions on those points.
The discovery fits a broader picture in which Schiphol remains an important checkpoint for drug smuggling. Customs previously reported that 19,332 kilos of cocaine were intercepted in the Netherlands in the first half of 2026, compared with 16,104 kilos in the same period of 2025. That figure covers all Dutch customs posts and says nothing about this specific case.
At Schiphol, 22 passengers carrying cocaine were arrested in the first six months of this year, according to Customs, compared with 103 in the first half of 2025. The agency also warns that smuggling routes and methods are changing. The new case shows that checks on staff are also part of security at the airport.
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The article's central points were directly confirmed by Customs. The broader figures come from an earlier Customs report and are clearly demarcated as context.
- confirmed Customs found 18 kilos of cocaine on a crew member at Schiphol on 29 September. — Reported in Customs' current news release. source
- confirmed The cocaine was in eighteen packages in three pieces of hand luggage. — Description from the same Customs report. source
- confirmed In the first half of 2026, 19,332 kilos of cocaine were intercepted in the Netherlands. — Customs half-year figures. source
- confirmed At Schiphol, 22 passengers carrying cocaine were arrested in the first half of 2026. — Figure from Customs' overview for the first half of the year. source
Editor's note
The discovery, arrest and handover to the Marechaussee have been confirmed. The airline, the identity of the crew member and the possible role of others are not known.Sources
- Douane onderschept 18 kilo cocaïne op Schiphol — Douane Nederland
- Douane onderschept meer cocaïne en minder cannabis in eerste helft 2026 — Douane Nederland
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „schiphol douane”
- De Telegraaf — „schiphol douane”
- AD — „schiphol douane”