Cocaine worth nearly £20m found in banana shipment
NCAA shipment of cocaine with an estimated value of nearly £20m was found hidden in crates of bananas seized by UK Border Force.
The discovery was made on board refrigerated cargo ship MV Atlantic Klipper, after it docked in Portsmouth, having set sail from South America and travelling via the Caribbean.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said it seized 240kg of the class A drug on Wednesday and has begun an investigation.
Supported by the Joint Operations Unit (JOU) - a collaboration between Hampshire Police and Thames Valley Police - the drugs, with a street value of £19.2m, were moved to a secure location, it said.
NCAThe JOU is the largest non-metropolitan joint specialist unit in the UK.
It forms a major part of protective services in both the Hampshire force and Thames Valley Police, which is responsible for policing Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
NCA senior investigating officer Matteo Sole said: "This is a significant seizure of cocaine and will deprive the organised crime group behind it of profit that cannot now fund further offending.
"The NCA works at home with partners, such as Border Force, and abroad to combat the threat of Class A drugs and the toxic effect they have on society."
