5.7 tonnes of cocaine have been seized in a southern English port, in what is believed to be the biggest seizure ever made in the UK of class A drugs.
The drugs were hidden in a container of bananas from South America and are worth an estimated $570 million.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) says the cargo was bound for the port of Hamburg in Germany and is liaising with international agencies across Europe to identify criminal networks involved in drug trafficking.
“This record seizure will be a huge blow to the international organized crime cartels involved, depriving them of huge profits,” said NCA director Chris Farrimond.
Criminal gangs are estimated to earn around £4 billion a year in the UK alone. The cocaine market is closely linked to serious violence throughout its supply chain, including gun and knife crime, the NCA said.
The previous largest UK seizure was 3.7 tonnes of cocaine in Southampton in 2022.
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