by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:26 PM ET, Thu February 1, 2018
Five men were arrested at an English airport after it was discovered they had smuggled over 1,100 pounds of cocaine with a street value of around $71 million from Colombia.
According to The Independent, a private plane which landed at Farnborough Airport in England Monday was met by Border Force officers. The agents questioned the passengers onboard the aircraft and became suspicious.
The United Kingdom Border Force officers were authorized to search the plane and discovered the cocaine hidden in 15 suitcases. Every piece of luggage contained between 34 and 37 packages of cocaine weighing approximately one kilogram each.
"This is a major seizure of cocaine, one of the largest flown into the UK by plane in many years, and this seizure by Border Force represents a major blow to organized crime," National Crime Agency operations manager Siobhan Micklethwaite told the Independent. "We estimate that once cut and sold on the streets in the U.K. it would have had a potential value in excess of £50 million (about $71 million)."
Border Force deputy chief operating officer Mike Stepney revealed that the packages were tested and turned up positive for cocaine. While the crew flying the airplane was released without being charged, a pair of brothers from Britain, two men from Spain and an Italian man were arrested.
NCA authorities also searched three properties in Bournemouth as part of the investigation, confiscating computers and phones. Officials from Farnborough Airport said the matter was being handled by the proper agency and there would be no further comment.
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