Police Intercept $110M Cocaine at London Gateway Port
Authorities in the United Kingdom are demonstrating resolve in the fight against drug trafficking after intercepting a large consignment of cocaine at the London Gateway port. The discovery comes as drug seizures in the country hit record highs.
In the latest operation, Border Force officers seized around one tonne of cocaine hidden in a container that had been shipped from Panama. The drugs were found on March 20 and are said to have a street value of $107 million.
The seizure has prompted the National Crime Agency (NCA) to launch investigations after it emerged the drugs could have been in transit to a different European country. This is because the drugs were hidden in a container that was loaded with ceramics and kitchenware that were being shipped to Norway. Officers reported finding the shrink-wrapped packages of drugs in a number of holdalls inside the container.
Authorities did not reveal the identity of the vessel but said investigations are ongoing to unearth the drug cartels involved and the consignment’s final destination.
“This was a fantastic seizure by our colleagues at Border Force, and taking this amount of cocaine out of circulation will have deprived the organized criminals involved of millions in profits,” said Paul Orchard, NCA Senior Investigating Officer.
He added that they don't believe the UK was the end destination for this consignment, but are working with international partners to identify the routing and target those involved.
This is the latest cocaine seizure at the London Gateway port in as many months. In June last year, officers seized 2.4 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of $133 million at the port. They have been finding large shipments at London Gateway as the port has grown to a throughput of 3 million TEUs in 2025.
The UK has emerged as a lucrative market for drug cartels, specifically from South America. As a result, officers are intensifying the fight against trafficking, something that has resulted in record seizures.
Authorities are highlighting that the year ending March 2025 was a record year after officers intercepted almost 150 tonnes of illegal drugs with a street value of $3.4 billion. This represented a 40 percent increase in the total quantity seized in the previous year and the highest since records began. In terms of cocaine, the police made a record 23,706 seizures during the year.
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To deal with the growing problem, Border Force officers have intensified efforts to tackle drug smuggling at sea as organized crime groups attempt to use maritime routes and a range of methodologies, including “at-sea drop-offs” to smuggle drugs. Dutch authorities recently reported that they caught smugglers in the act of tossing bales of narcotics from the decks of a containership in the North Sea for retrieval by a speedboat.
The authorities report that organized crime gangs are increasingly using innovative methods and expensive equipment to conceal drugs. As an example, in September last year, officers uncovered one tonne of cocaine hidden in two industrial generators valued at nearly $1 million.