Birmingham arrests over heroin in pomegranate juice

  • Published
Bottle of pomegranate juiceImage source, NCA
Image caption,

The juice turned red when it contained heroin

Millions of pounds' worth of heroin has been found inside pomegranate juice.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the contraband - with a street value of £38.8m - came into the UK mixed in with the bottled drink.

Three suspects have been arrested at an industrial premises in Birmingham, with a further apprehended at a residential address in the city's Alum Rock area.

The NCA said the normally purple juice turned red if it contained heroin.

Image source, NCA
Image caption,

Three of the suspects were arrested at an industrial unit in Birmingham

The Class A drugs weighing 388kg were recovered by NCA and Border Force officers from a shipping container at the port of Southampton.

This then led to the arrests of the four suspects on Tuesday in Birmingham, who have since been released on bail.

The NCA said: "The Class A drug trade is a scourge to society and this seizure goes a significant way to helping to protect the public."

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