Tonne of cocaine worth £80 million found on yacht heading for UK

A tonne of Class A cocaine was found aboard a yacht investigators believe was heading to the UK (Picture: NCA)

A tonne of cocaine worth more than £80 million has been intercepted as it was making its way to the UK.

The giant haul of Class A drugs was found tucked away on a yacht sailing from the Caribbean to Europe.

Investigators say they are certain the huge load of narcotics was heading for Britain when it was swooped on by customs officers.

Five people have been arrested in connection with the major investigation between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Spanish National Police.

The drugs bust is being tied to a wider investigation into international drug trafficking which has also seen the seizure of ‘1.6 tonnes of hash, 45,000 euros and four sailing vessels’.

Three suspected smugglers – aged 46, 70 and 29 – were aboard the SY Windwhisper vessel when it was intercepted in the mid-Atlantic on June 13.

A 38-year-old man and a 41-year-old man, who officials say are ‘linked to the vessel’, have also been arrested by Spanish officers in the Costa de Sol.

The huge haul of drugs is estimated to be worth £80m on the street (Picture: NCA)

The boat was intercepted in the mid-Atlantic as it made its away from the Caribbean (Picture: Solarpix)

According to a statement from the NCA, all five remain in custody on drugs trafficking offences.

A former Royal Navy officer living in Southern Spain, who the NCA say is ‘the British head of the [organised crime group]’, was previously arrested.

The individual has ‘links to organised crime groups in the UK and Ukraine’, according to the security service, and officers ‘believe he trained the crew and ran several companies engaged in buying, selling and renting sailing vessels that were subsequently used to conduct drugs transportations’.

Five men – three who were on the boat and two more in Spain – are being held by police (Picture: Solarpix)

Dave Hucker, head of European operations for NCA International, said the organisation ‘will do all we can do to disrupt […] supply chains’.

He added: ‘This is a huge haul of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than £80million. 

‘I have no doubt the drugs on board were destined for the streets of the UK, so this seizure is a significant result.

‘We know that the criminal trade in drugs is driven by financial gain, and the loss of the profit that would have been made from these drugs will have a major impact on the crime groups involved.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.