British law enforcement officers found 2.3 thousand tons of cocaine in a consignment of bananas imported from Colombia. This is reported by the Sky News TV channel.
The drug was reportedly confiscated immediately upon arrival at Portsmouth International Port. Later, law enforcement officers carried out an armed raid on an industrial facility in north London, where they were supposed to deliver pallets of bananas. Ten men, aged 21 to 56, were arrested in the drug smuggling case.
The National Crime Agency said that the value of the discovered cocaine could reach 184 million pounds (19 billion rubles). It was the largest ever seizure of cocaine in the UK.
Earlier, two British drug dealers tried to transport cocaine across the North Sea on a jet ski and almost died. On their way back from the Netherlands, they ran out of fuel. When the unlucky criminals were discovered by rescuers, one of them was diagnosed with frostbite, and the other – exhaustion. They were taken to a Norfolk hospital, but the rescuers were alerted to the suspicious behavior of the men, and they contacted the police. The intruders lied that they were fishing, but the police searched and found two kilograms of cocaine, a map of the North Sea, diving equipment and a tide schedule.