Europe

Europe

British Arrest 6 and Seize 2,600 Pounds of Cocaine

04 August 2011 05:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. British authorities said on Wednesday that they had seized the largest shipment of illicit hard drugs in the countryâ€™s history, and that the seizure had led to the arrests of six people suspected of working with an international narcotics ring, APA reports quoting The New York Times.

The nationâ€™s Border Agency said it seized more than 2,600 pounds of almost pure cocaine in June, with an estimated street value of up to Â£300 million, or more than $490 million. The haul was found inside a luxury yacht at the Southampton docks on the southern English coast.

Since then, the British authorities have worked with the Dutch police to track the members of the gang they believe to be responsible. The arrests came on Tuesday in the Netherlands.

The agency said in a statement that its crime team had tracked the luxury yacht Louise, said to be worth more than $1.6 million as it was transported to Southampton from the British Virgin Islands on a cargo ship.

The subsequent search took six days, the agency said, and the drugs were finally found stashed beneath the boatâ€™s bathing platform, having been packed there in Venezuela.

The seizure formed part of an operation with the Dutch police, acting on intelligence provided by the British Serious Organized Crime Agency, and in cooperation with other agencies and countries, including France.

The Border Agency estimated the drugsâ€™ value at $82 million wholesale, with a street value of $493 million. It said the cocaine, which originated in South America, was 90 percent pure. The average purity of cocaine seized at the British border is 63 percent.

Cocaine is considered a Class A drug, as are heroin, ecstasy and LSD.

â€œOur efforts have helped bring an international crime gang to book,â€ said Damian Green, the British immigration minister. â€œAnd the message is clear: we will investigate and prosecute anyone who tries to smuggle banned substances through the U.K. border.â€

The deputy director for the organized crime agencyâ€™s international unit, David Armond, said the operation was helped by his agencyâ€™s links with the French Customs Investigation Service, the British Virgin Islands police and the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre-Narcotics, a European agency that coordinates operations aimed at combating drug trafficking.

In raids early Tuesday, the Dutch National Crime Squad arrested six men and seized 100,000 euros, about $143,000, in cash.

The statement said the suspects were two 44-year-olds arrested in Amsterdam; a 60-year-old arrested in Meppel; a 34-year-old and a 32-year-old arrested in Heusden; and a 27-year-old arrested in Waalwijk. No further details were provided.