News
Record drugs haul seized A 5.7-tonne consignment of
T he National Crime Agency and Border Force made a record- breaking 5.7-tonne cocaine seizure in early February. Recently BIFA has been highlighting the concerns of the logistics and insurance industry regarding criminal activity within the supply chain. In some quarters there is concern that high levels of crime, particularly in specific port locations, could actually de-stabilise legitimate trade. On 23 February, the National Crime Agency (NCA) announced that it and Border Force (BF) had made, what is believed to be, the biggest ever seizure of Class A drugs in the UK. The seizure of 5.7 tonnes of cocaine was found in a container at Southampton port on 8 February. The blocks of drugs were found hidden within a cargo of bananas which had been transported from South America. cocaine was found at Southampton port in a cargo of bananas
Blocks of cocaine found in a consignment of bananas at Southampton
It is believed that the container was enroute to the port of Hamburg. Based on UK street prices, the seizure has an estimated street value in excess of £450 million. The previous largest UK seizures saw 3.7tonnes of cocaine, also found at Southampton in 2022, and
3.2tonnes found on board the MV Hamal in Scotland. To put the seizure into perspective, it is estimated that the domestic cocaine market dominated by criminal gangs is believed to be worth approximately £4 billion per annum.
BIFA utilises a network of Regional Representatives around the UK to act as a conduit for the dissemination of information and to seek local Member views on topics of interest. Forthcoming meetings are listed here. All BIFA Members are encouraged to attend their regional meetings, however pre-booking is essential. If there is no event listed in your region see www.bifa.org/events for future dates or contact your local Regional Representative: London West, the South & the South Support your local Member group
Region
Date
Venue
Scan to register
Avonmouth
Wed 17 Apr
Davies Turner, Bristol
Midlands (North)
Tue 23 Apr
Leonardo Hotel, East Midlands Airport
Midlands (South)
Wed 24 Apr
Holiday Inn, Coventry
West – Paul Cunningham p.cunningham@bifa.org Scotland and the Borders – Chris Curtin c.curtin@bifa.org Northern England and the Midlands – Andrew Melton a.melton@bifa.org Anglia, London East & South East - Paul
Newman paul@pnauk.com Northern Ireland – Shauneen McConville shauneenm@tr-logistics.com BIFA Young Forwarders’ Network FREE networking and information events for younger team members, see www.bifa.org/events
Reporting Freight Related Crime to Border Force – Operations Pegasus and Pandora
Air Contact Numbers Tel: 0203 196 2456 (0700-2000) Tel: 0203 014 5604 (24-hours) Crimestoppers: 0800 555111 or 101 quoting reference Pegasus
Ocean Contact Numbers Tel: 01394 303 116 (Office hours) Tel: 07920 587808 (24-hours) Quoting the reference Pandora.
Please note that there are different numbers for air and ocean. Border Force has confirmed that all reports will be treated in the strictest confidence.
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