Show caption Vodka bottles that were seized by the customs authorities in the port of Rotterdam. Photograph: Robin Utrecht/AFP/Getty Images Netherlands Dutch customs seize 90,000 bottles of vodka believed to be for Kim Jong-un Authorities say investigations led to suspicions the haul was to be taken to Pyongyang Daniel Boffey in Brussels Tue 26 Feb 2019 14.18 GMT Share on Facebook

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Dutch customs officials at the port of Rotterdam have seized 90,000 bottles of vodka believed to be destined for the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and his army chiefs.

The discovery, on the eve of Kim’s two-day summit with Donald Trump in Hanoi, was made after Dutch authorities flagged up the suspicious route and records of a Chinese-owned container ship, Nebula.

The Russian vodka, contained in 3,000 boxes, had been recorded as being due for unloading in China, via the ports of Hamburg and Rotterdam.

When officers sought to retrieve the container from the ship’s hull, it was found to be concealed and hemmed in by the fuselage of an aircraft also due to be exported to China.

Despite concerns about damaging the aircraft, the Dutch ministry of affairs ordered the container’s removal.

Initial investigations heightened suspicions that the haul was to be taken to Pyongyang, Dutch authorities said.

A customs official displays a container with 90,000 bottles of vodka. Photograph: Robin Utrecht/AFP/Getty Images

Arno Kooij, the customs officer in charge of the seizure, declined to comment on what had alerted his systems to the container ship.

“We do not want to make anyone wiser than necessary,” he told the Dutch newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad. “What I can say, based on the information we had, we suspected that this container would fall under the sanctions regime for North Korea. We suspected that this vodka would not go to China, but to North Korea.”

Sigrid Kaag, the Dutch minister for trade, who ordered the seizure, said: “The security council of the United Nations has imposed clear sanctions on North Korea, so it is important to enforce those sanctions. The sanctions also govern the import of luxury goods and so customs was completely justified in unloading that container.”

Kim, who was educated in Switzerland, is known to have a taste for the high life. Last year, it was claimed he had has spent more than $4bn (£3bn) on importing luxury products from China since taking power in 2011.

His family is said to have imported a seaplane, musical instruments, watches and furs, with luxury items accounting for 17.8% of North Korea’s total imports from China in 2017, according to a South Korean analysis.

Kim arrived in Hanoi in his armoured train on Tuesday, ahead of his second meeting with Trump. He had travelled for two and a half days, covering 2,800 miles, although his precise route has not been disclosed.