Drugs
British seize 5.7 tons of cocaine on route to Hamburg
The drug was confiscated in the port of the southern English city of Southampton. photo
© Nca/PA Media/dpa
It is the largest discovery of so-called Class A drugs in Great Britain to date: 5.7 tons of cocaine worth 525 million euros. The drug was on its way to Germany.
British investigators have 5.7 tons Cocaine seized that was on the way to Hamburg. With an estimated street value of 450 million pounds (525 million euros), it is the largest shipment of so-called Class A drugs to have been seized in Great Britain to date, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the British Border Guard said overnight .
The drug was confiscated on February 8th in the port of the southern English city of Southampton. The drugs were therefore hidden in a container with bananas from South America. The cocaine was supposed to be distributed from Hamburg. It was said that the criminal networks involved should now be identified together with European partners.
“This record-breaking seizure represents a major blow to the international organized crime cartels involved and deprives them of massive profits,” said NCA Director Chris Farrimond. “Although the shipment in this case was destined for continental Europe, I have no doubt that a significant proportion would have ended up back here in the UK and been sold by British criminal gangs.”
The largest cocaine discovery in Great Britain to date was 3.7 tons, which were also seized in Southampton on the English Channel in 2022. The NCA estimates that criminal gangs in the UK earn around £4 billion from cocaine every year. In recent years, violence related to drug trafficking has increased exponentially.