Dutch customs officers have seized three tonnes of cocaine hidden in vats of banana puree, officials said Friday, making it one of the largest busts to date.

The drugs, hidden in a container shipped from Ecuador and destined for Basel, Switzerland were discovered in the port of Rotterdam during a routine check late Tuesday.

"This haul, with a street value of around €225 million is one of the largest recovered" in the vast harbour, the public prosecutor's office said.

"The drugs were destroyed," it added in a statement.

The Netherlands has become a major conduit for drugs - particularly cocaine - into Europe, mainly through Rotterdam, Europe's largest port.

Dutch authorities said Thursday that they and international law authorities have intercepted 50 tonnes of cocaine destined for the Netherlands this year.

A Europol report in April warned the continent was being flooded by "unprecedented quantities of cocaine, generating multi-billion-euro profits" for criminal groups in Europe and South America.

The cocaine trade fuels gangs "that use their enormous resources to infiltrate and undermine the EU's economy, public institutions and society," Europol said.

In February, a joint operation by Belgian, Dutch and German police seized a record 23 tonnes of cocaine destined for the Netherlands during raids in Hamburg and Antwerp.