Law enforcement agencies have urged people living in coastal communities in the UK to help them catch drug gangs that are using ever more imaginative methods to get vast quantities of cocaine into Britain.
They have warned that gangs are favouring a method called “at-sea drop-offs” (Asdos) in which packages of drugs are released into the ocean from “mother ships” for smaller vessels to pick up and take into the UK via small coves and harbours.
But there is also growing concern the gangs may begin to use more sophisticated techniques such as deploying underwater drones, nicknamed narco submarines, to evade Border Force cutters.
The appeal and warnings come as members of a gang involved in an attempt to smuggle £18m of cocaine into the UK using the Asdo method were sentenced at Truro crown court in Cornwall for conspiracy to import class A drugs.
Last year, law enforcement agencies in the UK prevented almost 6.5 tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of £520m, from reaching the streets via Asdos. But it is estimated that people in England, Wales and Scotland consume 117 tonnes of cocaine a year.
Charlie Eastaugh, the director of Border Force maritime command, said good relations were being created between agencies and coastal communities through an initiative called Project Kraken. “Coastal communities and the maritime commercial industry are really key parties in the fight against organised criminality at sea and smuggling,” he said.
