Overview
- Border Force reported about five tonnes of cocaine seized at London Gateway in under a month, with an estimated value above £400 million.
- A high‑tech scan flagged a three‑tonne load that smugglers disguised as banana boxes inside a single container.
- The container had travelled from Panama toward the Netherlands with nearly 2,800 cocaine packages concealed inside.
- Another scan on a shipment of South American wine uncovered cocaine worth about £80 million.
- Officials called the results a major setback for criminal gangs as the Home Office logged a 40% yearly rise in drug seizures to nearly 150 tonnes and 1,279 cocaine‑related deaths in 2024.