London: Heroin worth more than 5 million pounds has been seized by the UK Border Agency at the Port of Felixstowe, the biggest detection of the drug in UK this year.
The estimated 80 kg of heroin had been shipped to UK from Asia in a single container listed as chilli powder, official sources said. Attention was drawn to the shipment by a discrepancy in the paperwork and the container was selected for further examination.
When officers opened the doors they found 600 sacks, each containing 20kgs of red chilli powder. Initial examination identified an inconsistency in the weight of one of the sacks. Inside the sack, officers found 12 packages, each weighing 1kg, of a fawn-coloured powder hidden among the chilli.
Tests revealed that the powder was heroin. Six other sacks in the final row of the container were also found to have heroin hidden inside. Brodie Clark, head of border force for the UK Border Agency, said: "This is a major seizure that reflects the robust controls we have in place at the UK border.Heroin is a dangerous Class A drug that wrecks the lives not only of individual users, but also of their families and the wider community".
The shipment arrived at Felixstowe on November 9. On November 12, five men were arrested by officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency at Waymills Industrial Estate in Hitchurch, Shropshire.
Two men were subsequently charged with importation of Class A drugs, and appeared at Telford Magistrates' Court on Monday. The Father and son duo Gulab and Khalid Mohammed, aged 50 and 28 respectively, were remanded in custody to reappear at the same court on November 23. The three other men, all from Birmingham, have been bailed until January 10. None of them has been charged.
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