Police find £40 million drug haul destined for UK on yacht in the Caribbean

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Two men from Jersey have been arrested after their yacht was boarded by officers in the Caribbean as it made its way to the UK. Credit: National Crime Agency/PA Wire

Police found a £40 million drug haul destined for the UK aboard a yacht in the Caribbean.

Two men from Jersey have been arrested after the UK-registered vessel SY Hygeia of Halsa was boarded by French customs off the island of Martinique on Monday as it began a transatlantic crossing.

On board, they discovered around 250kg of cocaine - estimated to have a street value of up to £40 million. It followed an investigation involving the Metropolitan Police, their French counterparts and officials from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Two months ago, around a tonne of cocaine was seized by the Irish Naval Service acting on information supplied by the NCA.

Two men from Jersey have been arrested after their yacht was boarded by officers in the Caribbean as it made its way to the UK. Credit: National Crime Agency/PA Wire

Two men - aged 57 and 42 - were arrested and now face possible prosecution by the French authorities.

The operation followed an investigation by the Met and NCA into a London-based organised crime group, with connections to the Caribbean, suspected of being involved in the large-scale importation of class A drugs