Northamptonshire: Four arrested after £78 million cocaine seizure

Cocaine with an estimated street value of up to £78m has been seized by police in Northamptonshire.

The Class A drugs were discovered after police received reports of a theft from a lorry which was making a delivery at a depot in Brackmills Industrial Estate, Northampton, on Friday.

Northamptonshire Police said it was the biggest drugs haul the force had ever seized.

Officers discovered holdalls filled with blocks of cocaine and a short time later, with the aid of ANPR, traced a dumped van which contained further bags full of drugs. In total, 18 holdalls were recovered.

An investigation has been launched to establish where the cocaine came from and who was transporting it.

Four people - three men and a woman, have been arrested in connection with the investigation and released on bail, pending further enquiries.

Detective Superintendent Emma James, said: “This is the biggest seizure of Class A drugs by Northamptonshire Police. In total we’ve recovered 780kg of cocaine which, following forensic analysis, has been moved out of the county.

“This was a large-scale transportation of Class A drugs and our investigation will be looking at who was responsible for bringing it into Northamptonshire and what their plans were for distributing it.”