German customs officers arrested two men on Saturday after more than 400 kilograms (881 pounds) of cocaine were found at the port of Hamburg.

The arrests took place at around 1 p.m. local time (1100 UTC/GMT) on Saturday afternoon at the O'Swaldkai container terminal in the sprawling port in the northern German city, police told local media outlet Morgenpost.

What do we know about the arrests and cocaine seizure?

Dock workers alerted customs officers after noticing two men boarding a ship and disembarking carrying over 20 sports bags.

The dock workers did not recognize either of the suspects as port employees.

They informed nearby customs officers, who immediately intervened and stopped the car that the men were about to leave in.

One of the occupants of the vehicle fled, while the other was arrested.

After sounding a major alarm and cordoning off areas of the port, the second suspect was apprehended later on Saturday afternoon. A police helicopter was used in the search.

Officers discovered more than 20 sports bags in the trunk of the car. The "bulging" sports bags contained 400 kilos of cocaine, a customs spokesperson confirmed on Saturday evening.

Cocaine flooding Germany and Europe

The northern port city of Hamburg is a hotspot for cocaine entering mainland Europe.

Hamburg is the largest seaport in Germany and the third largest in Europe, after Rotterdam and Antwerp. More than 23,000 shipping containers pass through Hamburg every day.

This year, President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) Holger Münch warned of a "cocaine surge" in Germany.

Münch said the drug trade is now "more concentrated in Europe" because of saturation in the North American market.

This month, Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever appealed for United States support to fight international drug smuggling.

Edited by: Sean Sinico