Border Force is set to smash records for cocaine seizures in a single year after intercepting more than £1 billion worth in a significant summer of action.
Between 1 June and 31 August, officers confiscated 15.6 tonnes of the deadly drug – equivalent to the weight of a London double decker bus.
This exceeds more than half the total seized in the whole of 2024 (26.5 tonnes) and the entire volume seized in the 2022 to 2023 financial year (15.22 tonnes).
Through enhanced international intelligence sharing, Border Force and the National Crime Agency continue to strike blow after blow against the organised crime networks flooding Britain’s streets with dangerous substances.
Large quantities are illegally imported from South America via commercial vessels. Smugglers are trialling new methods to avoid detection, including one passenger who hid £800,000 worth of cocaine in a cheese wheel before being stopped by officers.
In June, officers seized 2.4 tonnes of cocaine worth £100 million from a vessel travelling into London Gateway. This was the sixth largest detection on record.
Home Office Minister Mike Tapp said
Border Force’s record-breaking summer of seizures – costing criminals a staggering £1 billion – shows our mission to deliver safer streets is working.
Every kilo taken spares countless lives from addiction, prevents hundreds of drug deals and stops communities from descending into violence.
The criminal gangs inflicting this misery on our streets should know we’re on to you. More than ever, we have the intelligence, expertise and determination to destroy your vile trade.
Adam Thompson, head of drugs threat at the National Crime Agency, said
The NCA investigates some of the highest harm drugs groups to impact the UK and works across the globe to collect and share intelligence with domestic and international law enforcement partners to support their operations tackling organised crime.
This intelligence was key to interdicting large sums of Class A drugs that crime groups tried to smuggle into the UK, and without NCA and Border Force intervention, these drugs would have been moved across the country and led to increased violence, crime and harm in our communities.
Last month, Border Force revealed how traffickers are concealing drugs in high-value equipment to deter law enforcement with the threat of a large damages bill.
Officers are using technology and intelligence more than ever to overcome these tactics.
Cocaine-related deaths in England and Wales rose by 31% between 2022 and 2023, highlighting the urgent need for robust enforcement action.
Under the Plan for Change, Border Force will continue to build on this summer’s success through ongoing operations targeting cocaine smuggling networks.