Cocaine worth £40 million found in van round the back of village pub
Cocaine with a street value of £40 million was found in the back of a van in a village pub car park.
Around 500kg of the Class A drug was discovered in a Vauxhall Vivaro parked outside the Stags Head Inn in Lelley, East Yorkshire.
Four men have been since been arrested in connection with the find, the National Crime Agency said.
Police suspect that a few hours before the haul was discovered it had been taken to shore in an inflatable boat after being transferred from a larger vessel off the Hull coast.
The boat was abandoned at Easington Beach, the NCA added, which lies around 18 miles from the Stags Head Inn.
A 22-year-old, a 32-year-old and a 24-year-old, all from Scotland, were arrested at 8.30am on Saturday in Lelley, as well as a 39-year-old from Colombia.
Senior investigating officer Alan French said: ‘This was a significant amount of cocaine and its seizure will be a sizeable blow to the organised crime group which attempted to smuggle it into the UK.
‘There’s no doubt these drugs would have been sold into communities around the UK, fuelling further crime and exploitation.
‘Working with our law enforcement partners we are determined to do all we can to disrupt criminal activity, and protect the UK’s border security.
‘Our investigation continues following these arrests.’
The NCA operation was supported by Humberside Police, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit and Border Force.
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