00:00Worth an estimated £96 million, the seizure at the London Gateway Port in Essex marks the sixth largest cocaine seizure since records began.
00:12The Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Seema Malhotra, said drugs gangs trying to import illegal substances into the UK are a blight on society and we will leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of organised crime gangs, inflicting addiction, misery and death upon Britain's communities.
00:37The Home Office said cocaine-related deaths in England and Wales rose by 31% between 2022 and 2023.
00:47Border Force Maritime Director Charlie Eastor said this seizure, one of the largest of its kind, is just one example of how dedicated Border Force Maritime officers remain one step ahead of the criminal gangs who threaten our security.
01:07Container ships are one of the main methods used by gangs to smuggle cocaine into the UK, Mr Eastor told the Times newspaper.
01:19A little further afield, a haul of 20 firearms, 320 rounds of ammunition and 170 kilograms of ketamine, as well as 4,000 MDMA pills, were found in a lorry at Doverport.
01:31National crime agency investigators estimates the street value of the ketamine would have been around £4.5 million and £40,000 for the MDMA.
