UK police find 49kg of cocaine in container of oranges imported from South Africa
An investigation that started seven months ago has led police in the UK to a container of oranges imported from South Africa packed with 49kg of cocaine.
More than 230kg of cocaine has been seized so far and four people arrested during an ongoing investigation by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU), supported by the metropolitan police, UK border force and other agencies.
“The investigation began in April when a shipping container delivered to a farm near Bridgwater in Somerset containing animal feed was found to contain 189kg of cocaine,” said the SWROCU.
The container had travelled from Columbia to London Gateway Port.
Seven warrants were carried out at properties in West London about two weeks ago, “which led to four men being arrested and a further 49kg of cocaine being seized from a container of oranges imported from South Africa to the port of Felixstowe”.
One suspect from Southall, Ealing, was charged with conspiring to import class A drugs and remanded in custody.
Three other men from West London, aged 31, 51 and 60, were released while the investigation continues.
Paul Fisher from the SWROCU said: “Our investigation has prevented a huge amount of high-purity class A drugs from ending up on our streets, reducing both the threat to communities and the profits of the organised criminals importing and supplying them.”
Meanwhile, the owner of a landscaping business has gone on trial in Australia over the discovery of 384kg of cocaine hidden inside an excavator imported to New South Wales from South Africa in 2019.
An X-ray revealed packages of the drug hidden inside the machine. Police removed the drugs, replaced them with a legal substance and fitted surveillance devices to the excavator. They pounced after the excavator was delivered to the business and allegedly cut open to retrieve the goods.
ABC News reported last week that Timothy Engstrom had pleaded not guilty to attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border control drug in the New South Wales district court. The case continues.