National Crime Agency officers have launched an investigation following the seizure of around one tonne of cocaine at London Gateway port. 

 The drugs were found on Friday 20 March in a container which had been shipped from Panama. 

It contained a cover load of ceramics and kitchenware, which was being shipped to Norway. 

Border Force officers found the shrink wrapped packages of drugs in a number of holdalls inside the container.  

NCA officers estimate the haul would have had a street value of around £80 million if cut and sold in the UK.

NCA Senior Investigating Officer Paul Orchard said: 

"This was a fantastic seizure by our colleagues at Border Force, and taking this amount of cocaine out of circulation will have deprived the organised criminals involved of millions in profits. 

"At this point we don't believe the UK was the end destination for this consignment, but we are working with international partners to identify the routing and target those involved. Those investigations continue."

24 March 2026