Drugs raid on Arcadia

[IanT]

From the BBC website
Four people have been charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine with an estimated street value of £1.2m on the P&O liner Arcadia in Southampton.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators and UK Border Agency officers seized about 30 kilos of cocaine from the cruise ship on Sunday.

Three woman and one man are due before Southampton magistrates later.

Three other people held have been released on bail. All seven are from the Birmingham and Manchester area.

None of those held is a crew member, a statement issued by HMRC said.


Pity they abolished walking the plank!!
IanT

[Michelle T]

Also, on Sky News:

Seven people were arrested during the raid on the P&O ship Arcadia in Southampton.

Four of those held had a total of 30kg of cocaine strapped to their bodies, with an estimated street value of £1.2m.

Officers for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the UK Border Agency seized the drugs early on Sunday morning.

The seven arrested are from Birmingham and Manchester. They are currently in custody and have yet to be charged.

None of them is a crew member.

HMRC Assistant Director of Criminal Investigation Peter Avery said: "Drugs devastate lives and communities and we are determined to prevent them reaching UK streets.

"Our investigations will not only focus on those transporting the cocaine, but also those that finance and mastermind this illegal trade."



Ian - I agree with your last statement roflmao

[sparkieplug24]

telling you its an expensice way to travel for a drugs smuggler isnt it surprisesmi

[wakelover]

Congratulations to our people that caught them. Some people will stop at nothing huff

[danthebiscuitman]

On P&O site a passenger said she was behind the smugglers in the que to disemabrk. She reports that customs must have had some intel on the gang as they came straight in and took them and weren't concerned about anybody else.

Either P&O had worked it out and reported it, or these smugglers had been under survailence for a long time.

On a personal note, i had always thought that customs were thin on the ground at Southampton, even when we returned from the caribbean which is when Southampton is supposed to be at it's highest alert by custom officers.

[wakelover]

I agree Dan - sometimes they seem never to be there. Perhaps they know well in advance what's going on... giggle They do seem to do a good job it has to be said.