Get you up to speed: Cocaine worth £232,000,000 found stashed in bananas at UK port | News UK
Border Force officers intercepted a nearly 3-tonne shipment of cocaine valued at £200 million at London Gateway Port in Essex last Thursday. Nine men were arrested and subsequently released on bail.
Nine men have been arrested in connection with the operation and have since been released on bail as investigations continue. This seizure follows a record-breaking summer in which the Home Office reported over £1 billion worth of drugs intercepted.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) highlighted the significant impact of the seizure, stating it deprived an organised crime group of substantial profits, with NCA senior investigating officer Dave Phillips emphasising that “that is money that cannot be ploughed back into further crime.” With ongoing collaboration between the NCA and Border Force, further efforts will be directed to combat the class A drug threat both domestically and internationally.
What remains unclear — The identities and circumstances surrounding the release of the nine men arrested have not been disclosed.
Cocaine worth £232 million discovered hidden in bananas at Essex port
Border Force officers intercepted an almost 3-tonne shipment of banana boxes hiding £200,000,000 worth of cocaine.
Last Thursday, officers intercepted the shipment at London Gateway Port in Essex, where they found the drugs hidden amongst the bananas from South America.
Nine men were arrested and later released on bail.
Dave Phillips, NCA senior investigating officer, said: ‘This is a very significant seizure which has deprived the organised crime group behind it of huge profits.
‘That is money that cannot be ploughed back into further crime. Class A drugs wreck lives, they are toxic and can devastate our communities.
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‘The NCA will continue to combat the threat of class A drugs with partners at home, such as Border Force, and further upstream in source and transit countries.’
In February 2024, the NCA and Border Force made what is believed to be the biggest seizure of class A drugs in the UK.
Almost six tonnes of cocaine was found in a container at Southampton Port, hidden in a cargo of bananas from South America.
In October 2025, the Home Office said more than £1 billion of the drug had been intercepted in a ‘record-breaking’ summer.
Traffickers have become clever with how they hide drugs in shipments, with one group hiding the substances in baby wipes.
Officials at the US-Mexico border discovered a massive shipment of cocaine disguised as baby wipes in 2022.
US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents seized the shipment as a driver was attempting to cross the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity Bridge in Texas.
After CBP canines inspected the cargo, they discovered the drugs hidden inside packages of baby wipes.
A total of 1,935 packages were found containing 1,532.6 pounds of cocaine.