Huge haul of liquid cocaine valued £3 million seized at Gatwick Aiport in failed drug smuggle
By C Ballinger From Surrey Mirror
Drug smugglers have attempted to get 18 kilos of cocaine into the UK through Gatwick Airport by disguising it as oil.
The huge haul of liquid cocaine valued at more than £3 million was seized at Gatwick Airport hidden in oil cylinders.
The liquid drugs were being disguised as oil in unaccompanied goods deliveries that were flown from the Caribbean to Gatwick last week.
UK Border police identified a suspect shipment coming into Gatwick from Barbados on July 17 and found 18 kilos of liquid cocaine on board, hidden inside three metal canisters described as “oil filters”.
The narcotics had been given a pink colour.
If cut and sold on the street the haul would have had a likely potential value in excess of £3 million.
The next day, National Crime Agency (NCA) officers arrested 54-year-old Barbados-born Errol Watson outside his home in Queenswood Garden in Wanstead, East London.
He was later charged with importation of controlled drugs and remanded in custody following an appearance at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (July 21).
Two men, aged 28 and 41, were also arrested in London and released on bailed, while police in Barbados arrested a further two men and recovered a quantity of cocaine.
The investigation was a collaboration between the NCA and the Royal Barbados Police Force.
Steve McIntyre from the NCA’s Border Policing Command said: “We believe this operation has successfully disrupted an organised crime group who thought unaccompanied freight was a low-risk way of moving class A drugs into the UK.
“Tackling organised criminals who choose to exploit border vulnerabilities such as air cargo is a high priority for the NCA. These are significant arrests.
“Our investigation is ongoing, both here and in the Caribbean.”
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