Record €344m cocaine haul

A RECORD £300 million (€344m) haul of cocaine has been seized and six alleged members of an international drugs gang arrested.

A total of 1.2 tonnes of cocaine, with a purity of 90%, was found hidden inside a 65ft pleasure cruiser at Southampton docks in June.

It is the biggest haul of Class A drugs ever found in Britain, officials from the UK Border Agency (UKBA) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) said.

French authorities were alerted to the suspicious £1 million craft, Louise, while it was in the Caribbean in May and it was then tracked to Southampton, on its way to Holland.

It is understood the cocaine, which originated in South America, was packed inside the boat while it was in Venezuela.

The drug was 90% pure, while the average purity of cocaine seized at the British is just 63%, officials said.

Since the drugs were found in June, the UKBA has helped Dutch police track members of the gang and six men were arrested during early-morning raids — two 44-year-olds in Amsterdam, a 60-year-old in Meppel, two, aged 32 and 34, in Heusden, and a 27-year-old in Waalwijk.

A total of €100,000, two Harley Davidson motorcycles, two firearms, a silencer and some ecstasy were also seized.