Bob Loblaw
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2008
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HALF a ton of pure cocaine worth £30million was found in the back of a lorry heading for London, cops revealed yesterday.
The incredible haul was almost double what UK police expect to seize from suppliers and users combined during an entire YEAR.
The trucker and a passenger - both British and in their 50s - were being questioned by French detectives last night.
Both men denied knowing anything about the coke but said they had been delivering their load to London where it was to be distributed throughout England and Scotland.
Officers had become suspicious when the HGV was seen travelling erratically on the A9 Mediterranean coast motorway outside the city of Montpellier, southern France.
It was pulled over for a customs check and a scanner revealed the presence of an "abnormal load".
A spokesman said: "It's the biggest haul of cocaine ever seized in mainland France.
"The drugs were found on the lorry as it travelled from Spain. It's likely its ultimate destination was London.
"At the moment, the driver and passenger can be held for up to four days but clearly this period will be extended if they are charged.
"This is such an important find that budget minister Eric Woerth is coming to examine the drugs personally."
The cocaine was hidden at the back of the lorry trailer, behind a pile of peat.
It was distributed around 32 freshly painted cash registers which had been stacked on two wooden boards.
Customs officers said the drug had also been packed inside a number of plastic bags and rubber containers sealed with silicon.
Powerfully-smelling coffee beans had been placed throughout the lorry in an attempt to confuse sniffer dogs, said police.
England is at the heart of the largest cocaine trade in Europe, and Spain is the main entry point on the Continent.
Most of the drug originates in South America and Africa.
A report published this month by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) showed that the street price of pure cocaine had increased from an average of £35,000 per kilo two years ago to about £45,000 now.
The multi-billion pounds coke industry has grown rapidly in recent years as the potentially deadly powder is used in nightclubs, and even at middle-class dinner parties.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2453999/Half-ton-of-coke-fell-off-back-of-a-lorry.html
The incredible haul was almost double what UK police expect to seize from suppliers and users combined during an entire YEAR.
The trucker and a passenger - both British and in their 50s - were being questioned by French detectives last night.
Both men denied knowing anything about the coke but said they had been delivering their load to London where it was to be distributed throughout England and Scotland.
Officers had become suspicious when the HGV was seen travelling erratically on the A9 Mediterranean coast motorway outside the city of Montpellier, southern France.
It was pulled over for a customs check and a scanner revealed the presence of an "abnormal load".
A spokesman said: "It's the biggest haul of cocaine ever seized in mainland France.
"The drugs were found on the lorry as it travelled from Spain. It's likely its ultimate destination was London.
"At the moment, the driver and passenger can be held for up to four days but clearly this period will be extended if they are charged.
"This is such an important find that budget minister Eric Woerth is coming to examine the drugs personally."
The cocaine was hidden at the back of the lorry trailer, behind a pile of peat.
It was distributed around 32 freshly painted cash registers which had been stacked on two wooden boards.
Customs officers said the drug had also been packed inside a number of plastic bags and rubber containers sealed with silicon.
Powerfully-smelling coffee beans had been placed throughout the lorry in an attempt to confuse sniffer dogs, said police.
England is at the heart of the largest cocaine trade in Europe, and Spain is the main entry point on the Continent.
Most of the drug originates in South America and Africa.
A report published this month by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) showed that the street price of pure cocaine had increased from an average of £35,000 per kilo two years ago to about £45,000 now.
The multi-billion pounds coke industry has grown rapidly in recent years as the potentially deadly powder is used in nightclubs, and even at middle-class dinner parties.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2453999/Half-ton-of-coke-fell-off-back-of-a-lorry.html
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