Six arrested as police seize £15m cocaine haul at port

Detectives yesterday seized cocaine with an estimated street value of £15m in one of the biggest hauls in British history. Six men were arrested after the cocaine was discovered when two cars were searched at a UK port. The vehicles were targeted after a long-running inquiry by Cumbrian and Lancashire police working alongside HM Customs.

Officials said the seizure was a breakthrough in the fight against drug smuggling. "This is one of the biggest mainland seizures ever seen in the UK," a police statement said. "This is a major breakthrough in the fight against trafficking of cocaine."

Detective Chief Inspector Jeff Ashton, of Cumbria CID, refused to say how much cocaine had been seized. He said the inquiry was continuing, and a number of private and business addresses in Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire were being searched.

He declined to identify the port where the seizure was made for "operational reasons" but said the vehicles had been stopped and searched as they entered the UK from mainland Europe yesterday morning. He did say that the port was outside the Cumbrian area.

"At this stage I don't want to disclose further details of how or where the seizure took place," he said. "This is because six males have been arrested and are in custody awaiting interview.

"There are also ongoing operations with about five other forces to trace others suspected of being involved. Private and business addresses across the UK are being raided. I am absolutely delighted with the success of this operation and the fact that we have prevented such a large quantity of cocaine from reaching the streets of Britain."

The seizure comes two months after the UN warned that big drug traffickers are operating with virtual impunity because governments across the world were failing to target the cartels.

According to the 127-page annual report from the UN's International Narcotics Control Board, governments need to make greater efforts to freeze the traffickers' assets, improve access to drug treatment programmes and expand the range of non-custodial sentences available for convicted users.

The report said the emergence of new smuggling routes was a growing problem, with cocaine from South America being stockpiled and repackaged in west Africa before entering Europe.