Cocaine with £80m street value washes up on Sussex beaches

The National Crime Agency has launched an investigation after the discovery of almost a tonne of cocaine washed up in two beaches on the East Sussex coast.

The packages, all in waterproof bags and attached to life jackets to make them float, were located on beaches near Hastings and Newhaven yesterday.

The combined weight of both hauls is thought to be around 960kg, which if cut and sold on the streets in the UK would fetch around £80 million.

Passers-by made the discovery and alerted Sussex Police, who removed the drugs from both beaches and took them to a secure location.

NCA officers have now opened an investigation into the seizures, which are being linked.

The investigation will supported by Sussex Police, the Border Force and will likely involve other international partners.

• Martin Grace, NCA Branch Commander

Martin Grace, NCA Branch Commander, said: "This is a significant amount of class A drugs which we think originated in South America, but we are keeping an open mind about how the drugs washed up here and where the end destination might have been".

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