The technique of introducing the drug in small boats, well known in Spain, is manifesting itself more frequently in the United Kingdom / It is suspected that the ship loaded the drug at an indeterminate point in the Atlantic from another larger vessel
Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested four men and seized about a tonne of cocaine after a fishing boat was stopped in the sea off the coast of Newquay, Cornwall, south-west of the UK. Border Force officers intercepted the boat on Friday afternoon (September 13) and located the drug shipment. The British Isles are increasingly being the scene of attempts to smuggle cocaine into small boats, as recently happened with a speedboat that was intervened in Suffolk.
The four men on board were arrested on suspicion of importing Class A drugs (the aforementioned cocaine) and taken to police custody for questioning by NCA investigators. It is believed that they loaded the drugs from another larger vessel at an undetermined point in the Atlantic.
NCA branch commander Derek Evans said: "This is a significant quantity of cocaine that will represent a huge loss to the organised crime group that attempted to import it into the UK. With our partners at the Border Force and the Joint Maritime Security Centre, we have successfully managed to remove this shipment of harmful drugs from the criminal market. Its subsequent supply would have fueled exploitation through activity on the county lines, as well as serious violence. Our investigation into this importation is continuing”" he said.
Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested four men and seized about a tonne of cocaine after a fishing boat was stopped in the sea off the coast of Newquay, Cornwall, south-west of the UK. Border Force officers intercepted the boat on Friday afternoon (September 13) and located the drug shipment. The British Isles are increasingly being the scene of attempts to smuggle cocaine into small boats, as recently happened with a speedboat that was intervened in Suffolk.
The four men on board were arrested on suspicion of importing Class A drugs (the aforementioned cocaine) and taken to police custody for questioning by NCA investigators. It is believed that they loaded the drugs from another larger vessel at an undetermined point in the Atlantic.
NCA branch commander Derek Evans said: "This is a significant quantity of cocaine that will represent a huge loss to the organised crime group that attempted to import it into the UK. With our partners at the Border Force and the Joint Maritime Security Centre, we have successfully managed to remove this shipment of harmful drugs from the criminal market. Its subsequent supply would have fueled exploitation through activity on the county lines, as well as serious violence. Our investigation into this importation is continuing”" he said.