Cocaine bust leads to cannabis haul worth £4.3m seized at Heathrow

Oct 1 2012 by Jack Griffith, Uxbridge Gazette

cocaine plaintains

COCAINE hidden in plaintains was intercepted at Heathrow, with investigators linking the bust to one of the airport's largest cannabis finds the day before.

The cocaine, weighing around 7.5 kilos, was found on Tuesday last week hidden inside the fruit, within a larger consignment.

The plantains had been hollowed out, and the skins resealed to conceal the powder inside.

It is estimated the class A drugs had a potential value of approximately £750,000, if cut and sold on the street in the UK.

The discovery came the day after Border Force officers found 1.5 tonnes of cannabis, with an approximate street value of £4.3 million, in three containers, tightly-taped and stacked in boxes.

There were so many packages that they filled seven commercial wheelie bins, and it was the biggest seizure of the drug at the airport in recent years.

Both had come as part of the same fresh fruit and vegetables consignment from Accra, the capital of Ghana, west Africa. Investigations are ongoing.

Marc Owen, Heathrow Director for Border Force, said: "It seems likely that the same criminal gangs were involved in both of these two smuggling attempts.

"This means that in just two days we have put a £5million dent in their profits."

Anyone with information about activity they suspect may be linked to drug smuggling should call our hotline on 0800 59 5000.