LONDON, April 11, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - British border officials have seized 
around five tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of some o400 million ($540 
million), at one of London's main port terminals, the government said on 
Saturday.

The drugs were uncovered in a series of operations at London Gateway port in 
February and March, with the largest single haul, of almost 2,800 packets 
hidden in a banana shipment, weighing in at around three tonnes.

"The smugglers had gone to extreme lengths to avoid detection -- trying to 
replicate the exact shape and weight of banana boxes to conceal the drugs 
inside, among fruit in a single shipping container," the Home Office said in 
a statement.

Another o80 million worth of cocaine -- a tonne in weight -- was found last 
month in a shipping container carrying South American wine.

The Home Office -- Britain's interior ministry -- said almost 150 tonnes of 
illegal drugs were seized by the Border Force in the year ending in March.