£100 Million Cocaine Haul Busted in Dover Fruit Shipment
Two men have been arrested after border officers seized around a tonne of cocaine hidden inside a consignment of fruit at Dover. The massive drug bust, estimated to be worth a staggering £100 million on the streets, came as part of a joint Police Scotland and National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.
Major Blow to Organised Crime
The haul was discovered in the early hours of Tuesday, 22 September 2020, by the Organised Crime Partnership, a covert team from Police Scotland and the NCA. This operation is linked to Operation Venetic, which has already netted hundreds of arrests across the UK by cracking an encrypted messaging platform used by criminals.
“This is a huge seizure of class A drugs, made possible by excellent joint working between the NCA, Police Scotland, and Border Force,” said Angela McLaren from the Organised Crime Partnership.
“This operation has stopped a massive shipment of cocaine from hitting our streets. Once diluted and sold, its street value could have been up to £100 million. We’ve taken away a commodity that funds serious organised crime.”
Border Force and Lawmakers Praise Team Effort
Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts, Chris Philip, praised the frontline staff who made the seizure:
“Border Force officers work tirelessly to prevent dangerous Class A drugs like cocaine from devastating lives and communities. We’ll keep working closely with the NCA and Police Scotland to smash organised criminal networks and bring drug smugglers to justice.”
Investigation Still Underway
The Organised Crime Partnership continues to probe the attempted importation as law enforcement pushes to cut off supply chains feeding UK streets.
