This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Dutch officials say they confiscated about 90,000 bottles of Russian vodka thought to be headed for North Korea in violation of international sanctions.
The container holding 3,000 boxes with 30 bottles each was confiscated in the port of Rotterdam from a Chinese-owned ship traveling from Hamburg to China, officials said.
Dutch customs officials discovered 90,000 bottles of Russian vodka suspected of being smuggled to North Korea https://t.co/ffB0U29YWP
— Bloomberg (@business) February 27, 2019
Searching the container proved difficult because it was hidden beneath an aircraft fuselage, which had to be lifted by crane.
The discovery was announced on the eve of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi.
The vodka was believed to be for Kim and his army chiefs, Dutch newspaper AD reported.
The Dutch customs agency retweeted the report but declined to confirm that Kim was the intended recipient.
