British authorities seized approximately 398 kilograms of heroin in a container at the Port of Felixstowe on 2 August, in what is claimed to be one of the largest ever heroin seizures in the UK.
The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) had identified a container ship suspected of carrying a large drugs shipment en route to Antwerp, Belgium. The vessel docked in Felixstowe on 1st August.
The following day, officers from Border Force and the NCA removed a container in which approximately 398 kilograms of heroin was concealed within a cover load of towels and bathrobes.
The drugs would be worth at least £9 million (=EUR 9.7 million) to organised criminals selling the whole consignment at wholesale, and at least £40m (=EUR 43.3 million)at street level in the UK and other European countries.
The heroin was removed and the container returned to the vessel, which carried on to the Port of Antwerp.
Upon arrival, the container was collected by lorry and taken to Rotterdam.
On 5 August, as suspects took steps to unload the contents, Dutch Police moved in and made two arrests.
The NCA simultaneously arrested a man from Bromsgrove who is currently being questioned by NCA officers.
The seizure of such a large quantity of heroin is the result of a targeted, intelligence-led investigation, carried out by the NCA with international and UK partners. It is almost certain that some of these drugs would have been sold in the UK, fueling violence and exploitation including what we see in county lines offending nationwide,
…NCA regional Operations Manager, Colin Williams, said.
