Border officers have smashed a major drug smuggling operation by intercepting around one tonne of cocaine at London Gateway port.
Panama-to-Norway Shipment Busted
The massive stash was found on Friday, 20 March, hidden inside a container shipped all the way from Panama. The container was officially carrying ceramics and kitchenware on its way to Norway.
Border Force officers discovered shrink-wrapped cocaine packed into several holdalls inside the container, exposing a cunning smuggling ruse.
£8 Million Worth of Cocaine Off the Streets
The National Crime Agency (NCA) estimates the haul could have been worth a staggering £8 million on UK streets once cut and sold.
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Paul Orchard said: “This was a fantastic seizure by our colleagues at Border Force, and taking this amount of cocaine out of circulation will have deprived the organised criminals involved of millions in profits.
“At this point we don’t believe the UK was the end destination for this consignment, but we are working with international partners to identify the routing and target those involved. Those investigations continue.”
