Heroin worth £ 120m seized at British port
A DRUGS haul worth £ 120million hidden in bags of rice has been seized from a shipping container at a port, as the Royal Navy and police were praised for a string of swoops.
The National Crime Agency uncovered 1.2 tons of heroin in one of the biggest busts executed in the UK, at Felixstowe docks in Suffolk.
Detectives warned much of the stash would have been sold by county lines gangs which exploit children to run drugs and rely on brutal levels of violence to take control of markets.
Details of the swoop last Saturday emerged as the Navy was praised for seizing £ 81million- worth of cocaine in three separate busts in the Caribbean.
Police chiefs warned drugs are “inextricably linked to a high proportion of the violence” and Navy chiefs said sailors and Royal Marines “have done themselves, their families and the country proud”.
Meanwhile, officers from the Met, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, Thames Valley, Hampshire, City of London and British Transport Police have also arrested 230 criminals this week in a blitz on county lines gangs.
Nikki Holland, NCA Director of Investigations, said: “We know that a lot of these drugs would have ultimately been sold in the UK, through county lines networks.
“There is violent competition between rival organised crime groups at all stages of Class A drug production and supply. The business model also involves the exploitation of vulnerable adults and children both in the UK and overseas.
“By targeting those at the top of the chain and dismantling the county lines business model, we reduce drug supply to the UK, making it an unviable business.”
In the Caribbean, Royal Marines and the US Coast Guard team on board support ship RFA Argus hauled 11 bales of cocaine weighing 358kg ( 789lb) in the first operation.
Patrol ship HMS Medway and her US Coast Guard team followed that up by catching traffickers in two interceptions within 24 hours in the Caribbean Sea, which saw 650kg ( 1,433lb) of cocaine seized. Dealers were chased by speedboat. Commanding Officer of HMS Medway, Lieutenant Commander Jim Blythe, said: “The Royal Navy and the US Coast Guard have prevented a significant quantity of drugs crossing the Caribbean that could have been destined for the streets of the UK.
“They have done themselves, their families and the country proud.”
Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey told how the Royal Navy task group helped the operation after it was in the Caribbean to respond to damage caused by hurricanes.
He said: “Now they’re making drugs busts alongside our friends in the US Coastguard.
“This is amazing work from our people after months away from home.”