NEARLY three tons of cocaine with a street value of £232million was discovered in a container of bananas.
Border Force officers with sniffer dogs found the drugs in the consignment from Colombia.
Nearly three tons of cocaine was discovered in a container of bananas Credit: PA
Border Force officers with sniffer dogs found the drugs in a consignment from Colombia Credit: PA
The National Crime Agency was alerted and officers seized the dope at London Gateway Port in Essex on Friday.
They then watched as a man in a truck drove the shipment — minus the cocaine — to a warehouse, where a crime gang had “a massive panic” on finding the drugs missing.
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The NCA raided the site near Buntingford, Herts, and eight Brits and one Dutchman were arrested.
A source said: “They must have thought they had been turned over by criminals but, worse than that, the NCA went steaming in.
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“It’s the biggest seizure of cocaine in the last few years and this will cause serious grief in the criminal underworld.
“There could be massive fall-outs over the loss of the drugs.’’
The nine arrested, most in their 20s, have all been bailed pending enquiries.
NCA officers were still searching the warehouse on Monday.
The largest ever seizure of cocaine in the UK came in Southampton in 2024.
A total of 5.7 tons was found hidden in banana containers heading to Europe from Colombia.
