Police arrest man after finding cocaine worth £5 million
Police have arrested a man in east London after finding cocaine worth an estimated £5 million.
The 23 year old was taken into custody by officers from the Metropolitan Police's central task force east upon discovery of 37 kilos of the Class A drug at the property in Golden Lane, Clerkenwell.
The officers raided the property shortly before 9pm yesterday.
The cocaine was stored in three bags and the suspect was arrested in nearby Fann Street on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.
Scotland Yard said he remains in custody at an east London police station.
Acting Detective Inspector Tim Grinsted said: "This seizure demonstrates the tireless work of my officers to track down those responsible for putting drugs on the streets.
"I hope this sends out a clear message to those people - our officers will find you, arrest you and you will face the full force of the law."
A 42 year old Christmas tree salesmen and a man from Croydon who drove around London with half a million pounds stashed in a sports bag are among 4 people sentenced to 54 years in prison for supplying drugs.
The group were arrested in a police operation last November after being tracked by officers who uncovered the gang's plot to supply 100 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of £25m.
Cash in gym bag Credit: Met PoliceCocaine block Credit: Met PoliceCocaine blocks Credit: Met Police
Man jailed over Heathrow cocaine smuggling attempt
John Teebon. Credit: Police handout
A man has been jailed for six and a half years after he was caught attempting to smuggle cocaine worth more than half a million pounds into the UK.
John Teeboon, aged 56, now of no fixed abode but originally from Darley Dale in Derbyshire, was arrested at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 on Sunday 26 August as he stepped off a flight from Madrid. He had travelled from Peru.
Upon examining his luggage Border Force officers found one of his suitcases contained a white powder, which was concealed within a false bottom.
Field tests revealed the powder to be cocaine and Teeboon was arrested for attempted drug smuggling.
In total the seizure was found to weigh almost four kilos and forensic analysis showed it would have had a UK street value of more than £520,000.
Teeboon admitted a charge of attempting to import a class A drug and was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
Police discovered an enormous stash of cocaine in three safes hidden behind a false wall in a lock-up building.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police's central task force stopped a 26-year-old man in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire, yesterday afternoon, after he left the building in St James's Road.
They found he had a kilogram of cocaine on him, and the man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Three people have been charged after more than £10 million worth of cocaine was recovered by police, sources said.
The drugs, totalling approximately 200kg (440lbs), were found in London after being smuggled into the UK from South America.
Gilmar Gil Solano, 24, from Deptford, Paula Sanchez, 32, of Muswell Hill and Martha Santiago, 35, of Woolwich, were charged yesterday with conspiracy to import Class A drugs.
They will appear at Thames Magistrates' Court tomorrow.
30 packages of cocaine were found in the ship's accommodation area. Credit: UK Border Agency
A haul of cocaine worth an estimated value of £3 million has been seized from a cargo ship that had arrived in east London. The drugs were found on Monday by Border Force officers carrying out a routine search on the ship from Brazil at the Thames Refinery, Silvertown.
The drug smugglers were caught with the cocaine in their luggage at Gatwick. Credit: Home Office
Four drug smugglers from Spain who tried to smuggle a massive haul of cocaine through Gatwick Airport have been jailed for a total of 42 years. They were caught with the drugs in their luggage after arriving in February. The cocaine was estimated to have a wholesale value of more than £4m.
A suspected drug smuggler appeared in court today accused of flying into Heathrow with cocaine worth £250,000 in his luggage.
Lucian Petrica Codreanu, 27, was arrested at Terminal 5 yesterday after arriving on a flight from Rio de Janeiro, the UK Border Agency said.
Planes at Heathrow airport Credit: PA
Codreanu was remanded in custody charged with attempting to import a class A drug when he appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court this morning.
He will appear again at the same court for a committal hearing on June 19.
Marc Owen, of Heathrow's border force, said: "Border force officers are on constant alert to keep illegal drugs and other banned substances out of the UK.
"Drug trafficking is a serious offence and those convicted face long prison sentences."
