Cocaine worth £78 million seized by Northamptonshire Police

Cocaine worth an estimated street value of up to £78 million has been seized by officers from Northamptonshire Police.

The Class A drugs were discovered after police received reports of a theft from a lorry which was making a delivery at a depot in Brackmills Industrial Estate, Northampton, on Friday, November 26.

On arrival, officers discovered holdalls filled with blocks of cocaine and a short time later, with the aid of ANPR, traced a dumped van which contained further bags full of drugs. In total, 18 holdalls were recovered.

An investigation has been launched to establish where the cocaine came from and who was transporting it.

Detective Superintendent Emma James, said: “This is the biggest seizure of Class A drugs by Northamptonshire Police. In total we’ve recovered 780kg of cocaine which, following forensic analysis, has been moved out of the county.

“This was a large-scale transportation of Class A drugs and our investigation will be looking at who was responsible for bringing it into Northamptonshire and what their plans were for distributing it.”

Det Supt James added: “Tackling serious organised crime is a matter of priority for us in Northamptonshire.

“People may think that buying cocaine for a night out isn’t an issue, but the organised crime gangs involved in distributing Class A drugs are often also responsible for other forms of criminality, such as modern slavery and the coercion of vulnerable people to house and deal drugs, violence and firearms offences.

“We’re urging anyone who has any information about the people involved in organised crime or drug dealing to contact us online, by calling 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Four people - three men and a woman, have been arrested in connection with the investigation and released on bail, pending further enquiries.