Border Force officers have intercepted 12 tonnes of cannabis valued at approximately £139 million in what's understood to be the agency's biggest ever haul of the drug.
Roughly 1,200 boxes of cannabis were discovered packed into two shipping containers at Southampton Port after arriving from Canada, according to the Home Office.
Working alongside Canadian authorities and UK law enforcement, Home Office intelligence analysts identified the two containers en route to Southampton, reports the Mirror.
The shipment was stopped on May 6, the Home Office confirmed, with the seized drugs representing Border Force's largest ever cannabis bust - four tonnes more than the previous record set in 2017.
Migration minister Mike Tapp commented: "Congratulations to our brilliant Border Force officers for this record-breaking haul. We will not allow criminal gangs to profit from misery and peddle their vile trade. More than ever before, we are working with policing and international partners to secure our borders and keep our streets safe."
The Home Office confirmed that three individuals were arrested by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit on Tuesday (June 16) on suspicion of facilitating importations.
