Record cocaine haul worth £300m seized

1.2 tonnes of drug found hidden inside yacht at Southampton docks and six members of suspected international gang arrested A record £300m haul of cocaine has been seized and six alleged members of an international drug gang arrested, officials have said. A total of 1.2 tonnes of cocaine was found hidden inside a 65ft pleasure cruiser at Southampton docks in June. It is the biggest haul of class-A drugs ever found in the UK, officials from the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said. French authorities were alerted to the suspicious £1m craft, named Louise, while it was in the Caribbean in May and it was then tracked to Southampton, on its way to the Netherlands. Officials spent six days searching the vessel and found the drugs packed in a specially designed compartment beneath the boat’s bathing platform. It is understood the cocaine, which originated in South America, was packed inside the boat while it was in Venezuela. The drug was 90% pure, while the average purity of cocaine seized at the UK border is 63%, officials said. The haul is estimated to be worth between £50m wholesale and £300m on the streets. Since the drugs were found in June, the UKBA has helped Dutch police track members of the gang and six men were arrested during early morning raids on Tuesday – two 44-year-olds in Amsterdam, a 60-year-old in Meppel, two, aged 32 and 34, in Heusden, and a 27-year-old in Waalwijk. A total of €100,000 (£87,300), two Harley Davidson motorcycles, two firearms, a silencer and ecstasy were also seized. The immigration minister, Damian Green, said: “This was a significant drugs seizure which was made possible by the co-operation of our international partners. “Our efforts have helped bring an international crime gang to book and the message is clear: we will investigate and prosecute anyone who tries to smuggle banned substances through UK borders. “By keeping the border secure we play a key role in stopping drugs entering the UK and in reducing the harm they do to our communities.” The Dutch police were acting on intelligence provided by Soca’s international network and the French customs investigation service Drugs trade Drugs Crime Health Netherlands Europe guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 3, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.