Border Force officers have seized approximately one tonne of cocaine worth an estimated £80 million at London Gateway port in Essex. The drugs were discovered on Friday hidden inside holdalls within a shipping container that had arrived from Panama.
The container was carrying a cover load of ceramics and kitchenware and was destined for Norway, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA). Investigators believe the cocaine could have reached a street value of around £80 million if it had been cut and sold in the UK.
Senior investigating officer Paul Orchard described the find as a “fantastic” seizure and said it would deal a significant financial blow to organised crime groups. “Taking this amount of cocaine out of circulation will have deprived the criminals involved of millions in profits,” he said.
Orchard added: “At this stage, we do not believe the UK was the final destination, but we are working closely with international partners to track the route and identify those responsible. Our enquiries are ongoing.”
The seizure comes as new figures show drug interceptions are at record levels. Cocaine seizures by police reached 23,706 in the year to March 2025, a 13% rise compared to the previous year. Across the same period, Border Force and police made a record 269,000 drug seizures, up 24% year on year.
