BORDER Agency officers seized £4.8million of cannabis from a container of molasses.
The 1.7 tonne load was concealed in a shipment from Cuba, via Jamaica and Rotterdam, into Tilbury.
Goff Hicks, the UK Border Agency’s assistant director at the port, said: “When our officers opened the container they found the drugs in 53 individual synthetic sacks on top of a tank carrying the molasses. It is not unusual for smugglers to hi-jack perfectly innocent shipments in the hope that they will evade detection, but our border officers are alert to these criminals’ modus operandi.
“This is a major detection that has not only prevented a sizeable quantity of harmful drugs from hitting the UK’s streets, but also dealt a big financial blow to the smugglers.”
No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.
Anyone with information about smuggling can call the UK Border Agency hotline on 0800595000.
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