Two men plead guilty to drug offences following cocaine seizure worth more than £20 million
Two men are facing lengthy jail sentences after police made one of the largest ever land seizures of cocaine in the UK.
Officers discovered a stash of Class A drugs worth more than £20 million after they stopped a van and searched a property in Birmingham in December.
Police carried out an intelligence-led stop of a van on the A45 where they discovered 165kg of cocaine hidden among pallets of frozen food.
The driver, 53-year-old Baldev Singh Sahota, was arrested at the scene.
Officers then searched an address at an industrial estate in the Hockley area of the city where they uncovered a further 4kg of cocaine and MDMA, as well as 1kg of cutting agent - used to dilute drugs.
Police arrested 34-year-old Shakti Gupta at the property.
On Thursday, the pair pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
The pair will be sentenced on February 7.
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Police believe the drugs were intended for supply on the streets of London.
In a statement, Detective Superintendent Neil Ballard from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said the seizure sent a "clear message" to those involved in organised crime.
“This operation has resulted in one of the largest land seizures of cocaine within the UK," Det Supt Ballard said.
"It is a significant find which demonstrates the scale of this organised drug supply operation which the Met has successfully dismantled.
“The audacity of those involved and the lack of consideration for the impact of their criminality is clear.
"We have continually stated there is an inextricable link between the supply of drugs and the violence we have seen unfolding on the streets of London."
He added: “The distribution of this cocaine would have no doubt had a devastating impact on our communities."