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3 Aug 2011

Record cocaine haul seized in Southampton

Cocaine with a street value of around £300m has been seized in Southampton. A total of 1.2 tonnes was recovered which represents around five per cent of the amount imported to the UK annually.

The drugs, with a purity of 90 per cent, were found hidden inside a 65ft pleasure cruiser at Southampton docks in June.

French authorities were alerted to the suspicious £1m craft Louise while it was in the Caribbean in May, and it was then tracked to Southampton on its way to Holland.

Officials spent six days searching the vessel and found the drugs packed in a specially designed compartment beneath the boat’s bathing platform.

It is understood the cocaine, which originated in South America, was packed inside the boat while it was in Venezuela.

The drug was 90 per cent pure, while the average purity of cocaine seized at the UK border is just 63 per cent, officials said.

Officials say the haul is worth £50m wholesale and £300m on the streets although DrugScope has told Channel 4 News that street value could be a “significant underestimate”.

Chief Executive Martin Barnes said: “Potentially the street value could be higher. It all depends on how much it was adulterated and the end purity.”

The charity welcomed the record seizure but warned that cuts in drug treatment centres and education could undermine the work done by enforcement agencies.

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Cocaine with a street value of around £300m has been seized at Southampton docks (Getty)

‘Major criminal disruption’

Since the drugs were found in June, the UKBA has helped Dutch police track members of the gang and six men were arrested during early-morning raids on Tuesday – two in Amsterdam, two in Heusden, one in Meppel, and one in Waalwijk.

A total of 100,000 euros (£87,300), two Harley Davidson motorcycles, two firearms, a silencer and some ecstasy were also seized.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said: “This was a significant drugs seizure which was made possible by the co-operation of our international partners.

“UK Border Agency staff have shown vigilance, dedication and determination to uncover this shipment.

“Our efforts have helped bring an international crime gang to book and the message is clear: we will investigate and prosecute anyone who tries to smuggle banned substances through UK borders.

“By keeping the border secure we play a key role in stopping drugs entering the UK and in reducing the harm they do to our communities.

It’s a major seizure. It’s about serious crime, it’s about major criminal disruption. Brodie Clark, UKBA’s border force

“We aim to protect society from the violence and corruption that always accompanied the trade in illegal goods.”

The Dutch police were acting on intelligence provided by Soca’s international network and DNRED, the French customs investigation service.

Brodie Clark, head of the UKBA’s border force, said: “This has been an enormous seizure of cocaine. This is the largest we have on record.

“It’s a major seizure. It’s about serious crime, it’s about major criminal disruption.”

The international co-operation was a “strong and powerful example of more to come”, he said.

Asked about how the drugs were hidden, he added: “It was ingenious, it was difficult to find. Skilful people spent a number of days looking for it.”

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