20/10/2008

£1.2m Of Cocaine Found On Cruise Liner

More than £1 million of cocaine has been discovered during a raid on a luxury cruise liner, customs officials have said.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) investigators and UK order Agency officers seized the drugs, with an estimated street value of £1.2 million on Sunday.

Seven people were also arrested after the P&O liner Arcadia, which was docked in Southampton, was searched.

Four of those arrested were found to have a total of 30kg of cocaine strapped to their bodies.

Three women and one man are due to appear before Southampton Magistrates court later today. Meanwhile, three other's have been released on bail.

All seven are from the Birmingham and Manchester area.

None of those arrested are crew members.

HMRC Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation, Peter Avery, said: "Drugs devastate lives and communities and we are determined to prevent them reaching UK streets.

"Our investigations will not only focus on those transporting cocaine, but also those that finance and mastermind this illegal trade."

(JM)

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