Cocaine worth £450 million has been discovered in a cargo of bananas from South America in the largest class A drug seizure in the UK.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and Border Force found 5.7 tonnes of cocaine in a container carrying the fruit at Southampton port on February 8. The drugs were heading to Hamburg in Germany for onward delivery, the NCA has said.
A spokesman for the agency said: “Inquiries are ongoing with international partners across Europe with a view to identifying the criminal networks involved. Based on UK street-level prices the cocaine would likely have had an estimated value in excess of £450 million.”
The previous largest UK seizure was 3.7 tonnes of cocaine, also found at Southampton, in 2022, and 3.2 tonnes were found on board the tug boat MV Hamal in Scotland in 2015.
Chris Farrimond, the NCA director of threat leadership, 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.
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“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.
“Working closely with UK partners like Border Force, we are determined to do all we can to protect the UK public.”
Tom Pursglove, minister for legal migration and the border, said the government took a “a zero-tolerance approach to the supply of illegal drugs”.
He added: “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.”
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The NCA said UK gangs make about £4 billion a year from cocaine and the trade was increasingly violent.
A spokesman said: “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 exponential rise in associated violence in the past few years.”
