Record £8m of cocaine hidden in horse’s head

NEW Zealand customs officials have found £8million worth of cocaine in a horse’s head sculpture.

The diamante- encrusted ornament, pictured, weighed 63st and had been flown into the country from Mexico.

Officers at Auckland airport discovered it had been stuffed with 35 bricks of the drug – each weighing 2lb 3oz. The seizure is the largest ever made in New Zealand.

Two men – a 44-year-old Mexican and a 56-year-old US national – were arrested at the weekend as they tried to board a flight to Hawaii and charged with importing a Class A drug. Another Mexican man, 29, was arrested in Christchurch.

Importing a Class A drug into New Zealand can lead to a life sentence in prison.