Hartlepool raid sees five arrested in operation linked to recovery of £190m of cocaine at sea
Five suspects have been arrested in early morning raids in an operation linked to the recovery of 2.3 tonnes of cocaine worth £190 million.
The five were arrested in the early hours of Wednesday 22 September, at addresses in Hartlepool, as part of a National Crime Agency investigation.
Four men aged between 28 and 57 and one woman aged 53 are currently being held in custody on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and money laundering.
The arrests and search warrants – which resulted in the recovery of around £30,000 in cash from two addresses - are linked to the 2.3 tonnes seizure from the luxury yacht ‘Kahu’ two weeks ago.
The huge drugs haul was made on 9 September when Border Force interdicted the Jamaican-flagged Kahu 80 miles off the Plymouth coast in an operation also involving the Australian Federal Police.
Six men, one Briton and five Nicaraguans, have been charged and remanded over drug trafficking offences.
The strikes were supported by officers from Cleveland Police and the NERSOU (North East Regional Serious Organised Crime Unit) targeting alleged UK drugs couriers of an international organised crime group.
A sixth man aged 51 was also arrested today on suspicion of cannabis cultivation.