The drugs were seized at Southampton Docks in England after being sailed from Nicaragua via Panama
Authorities in England have uncovered a large quantity of illegal drugs concealed within a shipment of bananas, with an estimated value nearing $100 million. The discovery was made during an operation that has since led to charges against three individuals.
On Saturday, March 28, the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced in a news release that they had charged three men with importing class A drugs amid their investigation into a shipment seized at Southampton Docks.
Border Force officers who were working in partnership with the NCA discovered 943kg of cocaine when they opened a container that had sailed from Nicaragua via Panama. The drugs had a street value of £75 million (just under $100 million), per the release.
“This is a massive amount of cocaine which was destined for the streets of the UK,” said NCA Branch Commander Saju Sasikumar in the news release. “The supply of Class A drugs badly damages society by bringing violence and addiction to our communities.”
Initially, just two men — Daniel Dumitru of the West Midlands, and Andrew Smyth of Merseyside — were charged with importing class A drugs as part of the NCA’s investigation into the large seizure of cocaine on March 18.
Dumitru, 37, and Smyth, 46, appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on March 19.
A third man — Joshua Berry of Hampshire — was then charged with importing a class A drug and the production of Class B drugs, per ITV News and the BBC. Berry, 28, appeared in court on Saturday, March 28.
All three men have since been remanded in custody until they are expected to appear before Southampton Crown Court on April 17.
“Seizing these drugs deprives the crime group behind the importation of huge profits that cannot be ploughed back into further offending,” said Sasikumar in the NCA news release.
