Brothers Busted Over £10 Million Cocaine Haul
Michael Keating, 53, from Uxbridge, and his brother Matthew Keating, 46, from Rickmansworth, were snapped up by cops on Thursday, 2 December. Both have been charged with conspiring to import Class A drugs. They faced Uxbridge Magistrates the very next day.
Huge Cash Find at Home
Michael isn’t just in hot water for drugs. Authorities also slapped him with a charge of possessing criminal property after discovering a whopping £100,000 in cash during a raid on his Springwell Lane home.
£10M Worth of Cocaine Seized in Frozen Fish Van
The jaw-dropping drug bust stems from a massive cocaine haul found back in November 2019 at Newhaven. Border Force officers uncovered the stash in the back of a refrigerated van hauling frozen fish. This seizure is valued at up to £10 million on the street.
Three others linked to the case are already charged and waiting trial.
NCA Vows to Dismantle Drug Gangs
“It has been a long and complex investigation, but clearly these arrests and charges are an important step,” said NCA senior investigating officer Martin Matthews.
“This was a significant seizure of cocaine which, had it not been stopped, would have ended up in the hands of gangs involved in street violence and exploitation. Working with our law enforcement colleagues we are determined to do all we can to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in transporting class A drugs into the UK.”
The Keating brothers are due to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on a date yet to be confirmed.
