COCAINE FOUND HIDDEN AMONG VALENTINE ROSES

Jakarta Forum - Amsterdam, A week before Valentine`s Day, a consignment of cocaine was found hidden among 20,000 roses from Latin America at Amsterdam airport, Dutch authorities said Wednesday.

The roses, a popular February 14 Valentine`s Day gift, arrived last Sunday on a flight from Bogota, Colombia, which stopped over in Puerto Rico, the public prosecutors` office said in a statement. The drug was found in cellophane packets hidden in boxes containing the roses.

Three people in the Netherlands were arrested and police found a total of 9 kg (20 lb) of cocaine in their possession, including the seized shipment, with a street value of about 1.3 million euros.

The Netherlands is a major flower trading hub, home to the world`s biggest flower auction house and is the source of 60 percent of the world`s flower exports.

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