£100m cocaine seized in UK on a banana ship Drugs at port weigh one ton
COCAINE worth £100million has been seized from a shipment of banana pulp.
Border Force officers found the stash, weighing slightly more than a ton, during a routine inspection at a port in Britain.
It is thought the cocaine was put on the ship in Colombia and was intended to be delivered to Antwerp, Belgium.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Drugs fuel criminality and destroy lives.
“Class A drugs such as cocaine inflict unimaginable damage on to our citizens and communities, shattering lives and stoking obscene levels of violence, disorder and crime.
“This significant seizure of drugs sends a stark message to criminals in the UK and abroad seeking to smuggle drugs into or
through the UK: you will not succeed and we will use every inch of our law enforcement powers to track down and stop drugs from coming into the UK.”
The cocaine was seized at the London Gateway port in Essex.
It comes after officers there uncovered a 1.1-ton stash of the drug in a shipment of paper in September. Although it was also bound for Antwerp, the hauls are not thought to be linked.
National Crime Agency branch commander Jacque Beer said: “These were substantial seizures and will represent a significant hit to the organised crime groups involved.
“While the UK wasn’t the end destination for either shipment, it is likely that at least a proportion would have ended up being sold on our streets.
“The NCA is working with law enforcement partners in the UK, Europe and worldwide to target the criminal networks behind drug trafficking.”