£50m of cocaine found on Norfolk beaches
- Published
The cocaine was found in holdalls washed up on beaches
Cocaine with a street value of £50m has washed up on beaches in Norfolk.
About 360kg (793lbs) of the drug was found on Hopton beach, near Great Yarmouth and a beach near Caister, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
A member of the public contacted Norfolk Police having discovered a number of holdalls containing packages of cocaine on Hopton Beach.
The agency said the find would be a "major blow to the organised criminals involved."
The beaches were searched for more drugs
Matthew Rivers, from the NCA's border investigation team, said: "We are now working with Border Force, the Coastguard Agency and Norfolk Police to try and establish how the bags ended up where they did, however it is extremely unlikely that this was their intended destination.
"This is obviously a substantial seizure of class A drugs and its loss will represent a major blow to the organised criminals involved."
The drugs were found on beaches at Caister and Hopton
Supt Dave Buckley, from Norfolk Constabulary, said: "While we believe we have recovered all the packages, should any member of the public find one they are urged to contact [the force] immediately.
"We will have extra officers in the area to monitor the situation."
Detectives do not believe the drugs were originally destined for Norfolk
Other large drug hauls:
Cocaine with a street value of £80m was found on a vessel at Falmouth in Cornwall in April
Smugglers caught with £512m worth of cocaine in a North Sea tug boat were found guilty in July
Six other men were also found guilty in July of bringing £1.6bn of drugs into the UK in ambulances
Two men from Jersey tried to smuggle £40m of cocaine into the UK in a yacht in January 2015