A massive haul of heroin has been found in a shipping container at the Port of Felixstowe.
The drugs, worth a street value of around £40m, were hidden under towels and bathrobes when Border Force officers discovered them on August 1.
According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), the seizure is one of the largest ever made in the UK.
Colin Williams, NCA regional Operations Manager, said: “The seizure of such a large quantity of heroin is the result of a targeted, intelligence-led investigation, carried out by the NCA with international and UK partners.
“It is almost certain that some of these drugs would have been sold in the UK, fuelling violence and exploitation including what we see in county lines offending nationwide."
After removing the drugs, authorities returned the container to the ship it came from and followed its journey to Antwerp in Belgium.
It was then taken by road to Rotterdam, where Dutch Police arrested two people who tried to unload the container on August 5.
At the same time, a man from Bromsgrove was arrested in the UK; he is currently being questioned.
Mark Kennedy, Border Force Deputy Director, said: “Border Force officers operate on the front line, working every day to keep dangerous Class A drugs like this off the UK’s streets.
“Substantial seizures like this help to keep communities safe and hit the organised crime groups involved in the international drugs trade hard.”
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Nearly 400kg of the drug were found hidden under towels and bathrobes in a shipping container by the
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£40m heroin seizure after international operation
An international law enforcement investigation has resulted in one of the largest ever seizures of heroin in the UK.
06 August 2019
An international law enforcement investigation has resulted in one of the largest ever seizures of heroin in the UK.
NCA intelligence had identified a container vessel suspected of carrying a large drugs shipment en route to Antwerp, Belgium.
The vessel docked in Felixstowe on 1st August. The following day, officers from Border Force and the NCA removed a container in which approximately 398 kilograms of heroin was concealed within a cover load of towels and bathrobes.
The heroin was removed and the container returned to the vessel, which carried on to the port of Antwerp.
On arrival, the container was collected by lorry and taken to Rotterdam – all the time under police surveillance. On 5 August, as suspects took steps to unload the contents, Dutch Police moved in and made two arrests.
The NCA simultaneously arrested a man from Bromsgrove who is currently being questioned by NCA officers.
The drugs would be worth at least £9m to organised criminals selling the whole consignment at wholesale, and at least £40m at street level in the UK and other European countries.
NCA regional Operations Manager, Colin Williams, said:
“The seizure of such a large quantity of heroin is the result of a targeted, intelligence-led investigation, carried out by the NCA with international and UK partners.
“It is almost certain that some of these drugs would have been sold in the UK, fuelling violence and exploitation including what we see in county lines offending nationwide.
“The heroin trade also feeds addictions that put users’ lives at risk, while giving rise to crime such as theft which make people feel unsafe in their communities.
“The NCA works in the UK and with partners around the world to target the crime groups posing the greatest threat to the UK.”
Mark Kennedy, Border Force Deputy Director, said:
“Border Force officers operate on the front line, working every day to keep dangerous Class A drugs like this off the UK’s streets.
“Substantial seizures like this help to keep communities safe and hit the organised crime groups involved in the international drugs trade hard.”
“Border Force officers operate on the front line, working every day to keep dangerous Class A drugs like this off the UK’s streets.
“Substantial seizures like this help to keep communities safe and hit the organised crime groups involved in the international drugs trade hard.”
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