This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
On September 5, 2019, a significant heroin seizure was made in the United Kingdom. According to CNN, officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Border Force discovered heroin hidden in a cargo of towels and bathrobes.
At an estimated street value of Ksh.1.48 billion, the seized heroin is considered a record seizure in the U.K. and one of the largest in Europe. The operation, which involved tracking the container to Rotterdam via Antwerp, took almost six hours to complete.
As a result of the operation, three arrests were made, and organised crime is estimated to have lost tens of millions of pounds in profits. The NCA's deputy director of investigations, Matt Horne, described the seizure as a major blow to the criminal network.
‘This is a record heroin seizure in the U.K. and one of the largest ever in Europe,’ Matt Horne said. ‘This seizure has denied organised crime tens of millions of pounds in profits.’
