Paris - A routine check of a lorry on a motorway rest stop led French customs agents to find 684 kilos of cocaine concealed in the vehicle's trailer, the Customs Office in the southern city of Montpellier said.

The find is the largest-ever seizure of the white powder made in France and has a street value of an estimated 28 million euros (about 39 million dollars).

The cocaine was discovered with the use of a new technological aid, a lorry scanner. The plastic-wrapped packets of the drug were covered with paint and coffee dregs to irritate sniffer hounds and concealed in 32 boxes arranged on wooden palettes.

The two British natives who were underway with the lorry claimed to have known nothing about their expensive cargo. (dpa)