£200k drugs haul at East Mids Airport
POLICE FIND THEM HIDDEN IN POND FILTRATION EQUIPMENT
A LARGE haul of drugs worth thousands of pounds has been found hidden in pond filtration equipment at East Midlands Airport.
A man and woman have been arrested in relation to the attempted importation of 11 kilos of drugs through the Castle Donington airport.
The haul was found to contain two kilos of cocaine, four kilos of ketamine and five kilos of amphetamines and had been hidden in a package containing pond filtration equipment.
The package had been sent from the Netherlands and was found during checks by Border Force officials on incoming parcel freight at East Midlands Airport on February 5.
The drugs are estimated to have a street value in excess of £200,000. National Crime Agency officers and Northamptonshire Police arrested two people, both 25, in Northampton on suspicion of smuggling offences. They remain in custody being questioned.
Michael Pope, the National Crime Agency branch operations manager, said: “The criminal gangs involved in drug distribution often also have links to violence and exploitation. “Taking drugs out at source stops those groups from being able to profit from their illicit commodities.
“Working with partners like Border Force and Northamptonshire Police we are determined to do all we can to prevent supplies reaching criminal hands across the East Midlands.”
Taking drugs out at source stops those groups from being able to profit from their illicit commodities. Michael Pope