Cocaine worth £76m found hidden in banana shipment

Border Force officers have seized almost a tonne of cocaine hidden amongst a shipment of bananas bound for Europe.

The Class A drugs were detected at the Port of Southampton on Friday (15 January) having been concealed within a shipping container transported on a commercial vessel docked at the port, as part of routine inspections.

The cocaine, which weighed a total of 946 kilos, was suspected to have been placed in the cargo in Colombia and was bound for Antwerp in Belgium. The cocaine had a potential street value of around £76 million.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “This was drug smuggling on an industrial scale so I’m delighted that Border Force officers have prevented such a large quantity of dangerous goods from reaching our streets.

“Drugs devastate communities, line the pockets of serious criminals, and are a serious driver of the violence which ruin young lives right across the country.

“We are sending a strong signal to criminals in the UK and abroad seeking to smuggle drugs into or through the UK: your efforts will fail and we will use every part of our law enforcement powers to stop drugs from coming into the UK.”

Using an array of search techniques and visual checks, Border Force officers were able to identify anomalies within the container cargo.

Regional Director for Border Force South, Tim Kingsberry said: “This significant seizure has removed a large amount of dangerous drugs from the streets, which not only reduces the significant harm they cause to communities but also makes a huge dent in the profits of smugglers.”

Border Force officers use hi-tech search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country.