Cocaine with street value of £9million seized at Port of Tyne

Border Force officers at the Port of Tyne International Passenger Terminal, have seized approximately 115 kilos of cocaine, with a potential estimated street value of £9 million.

On the morning of Friday, 19 October, Border Force officers stopped a Polish registered lorry recently arrived on a ferry from Amsterdam.

After x-ray scanning the lorry, officers carried out a search and found packages hidden within the trailer.

The contents of the packages tested positive to a field test for cocaine. The drugs will now be sent for forensic analysis to determine the purity.

Liz Versi, Director of Border Force North said:

The investigation was passed to the NCA.

Andy Etherington. NCA Operations Manager, said:

Rafal Chyl, 27, a Polish man of no fixed UK address, was subsequently charged with importing a Class A drug. He appeared at Newcastle Magistrates on Tuesday 23 October, where he was remanded in custody to next appear at Newcastle Crown Court on 22 November.

The Government's Serious Violence Strategy, which was launched in April, aims to combat the devastating impact drugs have on levels of serious violence.

It also highlights a strong link between drugs and serious violence and the related harm and exploitation from county lines.

The Government has set out the action it will take to tackle this violent and exploitative criminal activity. The action of Border Force to stop drugs before they get into the country forms a key part of this work.

Border Force officers use hi-tech search equipment to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods that smugglers attempt to bring into the country.

Nationally, they use an array of search techniques including sniffer dogs, carbon dioxide detectors, heartbeat monitors and scanners - as well as visual searches - to find well-hidden stowaways, illegal drugs, firearms and tobacco which would otherwise end up causing harm to local people, businesses and communities.