£80m cocaine bust: Four arrested as drugs disguised as shea butter seized

07 February 2025 , 08:14

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£80m cocaine bust: Four arrested as drugs disguised as shea butter seized

A woman in her 40s was also arrested on suspicion of money laundering and released under investigation

A massive drug operation has seen four men arrested and £80m worth of cocaine seized. The National Crime Agency investigation saw a mammoth 847.5 kilos of the Class A drug recovered.

Police report that the suspects were arrested on Wednesday, February 5, and are aged in their 30s, 40s and 60s. The group were arrested at an address in Merrington, Shrewsbury, Shropshire but were released on bail.

It was reported that the NCA investigation was launched after Border Force searched a shipping container on 23 December last year at Tilbury Docks in Essex. Inside was a coverload of shea butter.

The drugs were disguised as shea butter ( Image: National Crime Agency)

But secreted under it were the blocks of cocaine which all had markings at the top and bottom, including Polo Ralph Lauren logos, a Cessna logo and a Star of David. West Mercia Police provided support to the NCA arrests and searches.

A woman in her 40s was also arrested on suspicion of money laundering and released under investigation. 

David Phillips, NCA operations manager, said: "The NCA works tirelessly with partners at home and abroad to protect the public from the threat of Class A drugs which cause devastation to communities across the UK.

"This is a very significant haul of cocaine and its seizure will cause big losses to the organised crime group behind its importation."

It comes as in a separate incident, drug smugglers from the US were caught naked in by police after running an £8m cocaine ring through Manchester Airport. 

Five women and two men had been promised "considerable" payments by crime chiefs, before being flown to the UK with instructions to collect 12 bags, which contained a total of over 300kg of the Class A drug. However, their plan was soon in tatters when one of the bags triggered an alarm after going through an X-ray machine.

Three members of the group were immediately arrested, while four others were apprehended in rooms at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, located opposite the airport. Two of them were found naked in bed when police officers stormed in.

James Turner