UK authorities make biggest ever cocaine bust as £450 MILLION worth of drugs seized

The container was transporting a large consignment of bananas into Europe from South America.

The operation was led by the National Crime Agency, after intelligence on the shipment was received by its Near Europe Task Force.

Specialist Border Force officers were called in to carry out a search of the container.

NCA officers believe the haul was heading to the port of Hamburg in Germany, but it's believed a significant proportion of the drug would have ended up back on the streets of the UK.

The Agency said it was liaising with international partners across Europe to help identify the criminal networks involved.

Based on UK street-level prices, authorities have valued the haul at more than £450 million.

Previously, the largest UK seizures saw 3.7 tonnes of cocaine found in a container at the port of Southampton in 2022, and 3.2 tonnes discovered onboard a tug-boat in Scotland in 2015.

The domestic cocaine market is dominated by organised criminal gangs, who the NCA believe are making up to £4 billion a year in the UK alone.

Authorities warn that cocaine trafficking is closely linked to serious violence throughout the supply chain, including firearms and knife crime in the UK.

The cocaine trade has seen an explosion in violent crime across the UK in the past few years.

National Crime Agency Director Chris Farrimond said: "This record-breaking seizure will represent a huge hit to the international organised crime cartels involved, denying them massive profits. The work of the NCA was crucial to making it happen.

"While the destination for the consignment was continental Europe in this case, I have no doubt that a significant proportion would have ended up back here in the UK, being peddled by UK criminal gangs.

"The NCA is targeting international networks upstream and overseas, disrupting and dismantling them at every step. International law enforcement co-operation is essential to this mission."

Home Office minister, Tom Pursglove said: "This Government takes a zero-tolerance approach to the supply of illegal drugs, and I am grateful to dedicated Border Force officers and the NCA for their work to apprehend this record-breaking seizure.

"This seizure sends a clear message to criminals that they will be caught. Our Border Force officers continue to work relentlessly to protect our borders and ensure the safety and security of the public."