Border Force £1bn cocaine seizures 'record breaking'

More than £1bn worth of cocaine has been seized by the Border Force during what the Home Office described as a "record breaking summer".

In June, July and August, 15.6 tonnes of the class A drug was seized - more than half the total seized in the whole of 2024.

Seizures have included a shipment worth £100m at London Gateway port in July.

Speaking on board a patrol vessel during a deployment on the Solent, Home Office minister, Mike Tapp said the work to disrupt the drugs trade was "truly heroic".

The Home Office said improved intelligence sharing mean the National Crime Agency and Border Force were "inflicting major blows on organised crime".

Releasing the figures on seizures between 1 June and 31 August, it said they exceeded more than half the total seized in the whole of 2024 - 26.5 tonnes - and the entire volume seized in the 2022/23 financial year - 15.22 tonnes.

It warned large quantities were being illegally imported from South America via commercial vessels, with smugglers trialling new methods to avoid detection.

One passenger hid £800,000 worth of cocaine in a cheese wheel before being stopped by officers.

Government figures showed the number of cocaine-related deaths in England and Wales rose by 31% between 2022 and 2023.

The cocaine haul at London Gateway was one of the largest in the past decade

There have been a number of high-profile seizures made during 2025:

• Several hundred kilos of drugs were seized from a boat off west Somerset in July.

• Cocaine with a street value of almost £100m was seized by Border Force officers in "one of the largest drugs busts of the past decade" on a container vessel arriving at London Gateway port from Panama in June.

• The National Crime Agency (NCA) and Border Force seized 185kg of suspected cocaine, worth an estimated street value of £18.5m, from a lorry at Belfast Port.

HMC Seeker has been operating in the eastern Solent

Neil Woods of Law Enforcement Action Partnership, which campaigns on drugs policy and policing, cautioned that focusing on high-profile seizures was "misleading the public".

"These kind of large seizures are presented as a success. It's deeply ironic – they are evidence of failure, not success.

"It's a clear indication of an increase in the volume of the market."

He said street prices of cocaine were "plummeting", with the drug being imported in more pure forms and demand remaining high.

Chief engineer and Border Force officer, Graeme Forbes is part of the crew of HMC Seeker

On the front line of the fight against the drugs trade, as well as arms and people smugglers, is HMC Seeker - one of four Border Force 42-metre (138 ft) coastal patrol vessels.

Its crew of 12 spend two weeks at a time at sea, patrolling anywhere within UK territorial waters.

Speaking during a deployment on the Solent, Cmdr Richard Davies stressed vessel speed is a priority when they board a suspect vessel.

"It has to be quick - onboard quick, secure the vessel and control the people.

"We're supported by high-tech equipment, two radar surveillance systems and cameras which can act as a safety measure for us and produce evidence in court at a later date."

Chief engineer and Border Force officer Graeme Forbes said the "primary threat" was currently cocaine shipments from South America.

"That's coming in by a variety of routes. It's being dropped off from commercial vessels, by yachts, on fishing vessels, so we have to tailor our response to meet the threat."

Home Office Minister, Mike Tapp spent over an hour on a Border Force rigid-hulled inflatable boat

On board to see the Border Force crew in action, Mr Tapp described the total quantity of cocaine seized during the summer as a "really fantastic haul".

"The efforts that these guys are putting into seizing drugs, firearms, stopping illegal migration is truly heroic and we've seen a billion pounds worth of cocaine seized in the last three months.

"Now that's an absolutely massive number and that's taken a lot of deadly drugs off of our streets."

He played down worries that record seizures could indicate that more drugs are actually getting into the country.

"It's really difficult to quantify exactly how much comes in but it doesn't mean we stop - we're determined.

"It is a fantastic win in terms of the haul and what we've managed to get off the streets. But the drugs problem continues and we'll keep going after those at the very bottom to the very top."

He insisted dealing with small boats and people smugglers was not diverting attention and resources away from the fight against drug smuggling.

"The focus and priority for the Home Office is stopping those boats and bringing down illegal migration.

"But of course that doesn't mean that we leave drugs alone and let the gangsters operate. These battles never end. We'll pursue every criminal."