In a significant operation targeting a suspected organized crime group (OCG), Police and the NCA conducted coordinated raids across Lancashire and Merseyside, resulting in the arrest of nine individuals. The arrests are in connection with an attempted smuggling operation valued at £140 million involving cocaine. The operation was carried out by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on the morning of November 29.
The OCG in question was believed to be responsible for a smuggling attempt in August 2022 when a shipment of cocaine was transported from Sierra Leone. However, the operation took an unexpected turn when the shipment was discovered concealed in a shipping container at the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk. The Class A drugs, weighing a substantial 20 kilograms, had been hidden beneath sacks of flour and were destined for delivery in Wigan before being intercepted.
