Dutch customs seize 90,000 bottles of vodka believed to be for Kim Jong-un

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

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

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.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/26/dutch-customs-seize-90000-bottles-of-vodka-believed-to-be-for-kim-jong-un

[marble falls]

1. He'll just have to do with that 86,000 bottles of gin from last month.

[soryang]

2. The DPRK embassy in Italy was allegedly at the center of black market activities

Their acting ambassador there disappeared last November.

These items can typically be used for patronage or sold in exclusive stores in Pyongyang that only the privileged people there can buy.

[louis-t]

3. Who the Hell needs 90,000 bottles of vodka?

He can't be selling it, N. Koreans have no money.

[soryang]

4. jangma dang financiers and their clients can move this stuff

I would suspect some would be reserved for political patronage by government elites.

Some would show up in elite stores, or...

Jangmadang financiers and their clients could move the product to the border area with China to sell on the black market to obtain foreign currency while government officials in North Korea look the other way.

Someone evidently had the money to buy the load.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. That boy is a lush