Heroin Worth £40million Found In Felixstowe Shipping Container, Hidden Under Bath Towels

The drugs would be worth at least £9 million to organised criminals selling the whole consignment at wholesale, and at least £40 million at street level in the UK and other European countries, the NCA said.

Regional operations manager Colin Williams said: “The seizure of such a large quantity of heroin is the result of a targeted, intelligence-led investigation, carried out by the NCA with international and UK partners.

“It is almost certain that some of these drugs would have been sold in the UK, fuelling violence and exploitation including what we see in county lines offending nationwide.

“The heroin trade also feeds addictions that put users’ lives at risk, while giving rise to crimes such as theft which make people feel unsafe in their communities.

“The NCA works in the UK and with partners around the world to target the crime groups posing the greatest threat to the UK.”

Mark Kennedy, Border Force deputy director, said: “Border Force officers operate on the front line, working every day to keep dangerous class A drugs like this off the UK’s streets.

“Substantial seizures like this help to keep communities safe and hit the organised crime groups involved in the international drugs trade hard.”