More than $130 million in cocaine recovered from ship in London port by U.K. authorities

British authorities seized 2.4 metric tons of cocaine in a ship arriving in England from Panama, authorities said Saturday, calling it one of the U.K.’s biggest drug busts in years.

The drugs, valued at 96 million pounds ($132 million), were found under containers on a vessel at London Gateway port, east of the British capital. The shipment was discovered after what officials said was an intelligence-led operation.

Britain’s interior ministry, the Home Office, said it was the sixth-largest cocaine seizure on record.

U.K. Border Force Maritime director Charlie Eastaugh said the seizure was “just one example of how dedicated Border Force maritime officers remain one step ahead of the criminal gangs who threaten our security.

“Our message to these criminals is clear — more than ever before, we are using intelligence and international law enforcement co-operation to disrupt and dismantle your operations,” he said.

Britain is one of Europe’s biggest markets for cocaine, according to the National Crime Agency. The U.K. government says cocaine-related deaths in England and Wales rose by 31% between 2022 and 2023.

Last week, the Mexican navy seized 3.5 tons of cocaine hidden in a semisubmersible vessel off the Pacific coast, releasing video of the “narco sub” being intercepted.

In April, a U.S. Coast Guard crew seized roughly 10,000 pounds of cocaine from a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean, the agency said. The haul was worth an estimated $74 million.