Four arrested by National Crime Agency after cocaine worth £40m found in van in Lelley

STASH: The drugs as they were found in the van

By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor

Four men have been arrested after half a tonne of cocaine was found in a van in the small Holderness village of Lelley.

Officers from the National Crime Agency said the men were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to import class A drugs at around 8.30am on Saturday, May 4.

The arrests followed the seizure of about 500 kilos of cocaine – with a potential street value of £40m – from the back of a Vauxhall Vivaro van in the car park of the Stags Head Inn in Lelley.

It is believed that the drugs had been transferred from a larger vessel sailing off the coast of Hull using a RHIB a few hours before. The smaller boat was found abandoned on rocks at Easington beach.

The NCA operation was supported by Humberside Police, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit and Border Force.

The men remain in custody and are being questioned by NCA investigators. They are a 22-year-old from Argyll, a 32-year-old from Oban, a 24-year-old from Campbeltown and a 39-year-old from Colombia, the agency said.

NCA Senior Investigating Officer Alan French said: “This was a significant amount of cocaine and its seizure will be a sizeable blow to the organised crime group which attempted to smuggle it into the UK.

SEIZURE: The parcels of cocaine recovered a van in Lelley

“There’s no doubt these drugs would have been sold into communities around the UK, fuelling further crime and exploitation.

“Working with our law enforcement partners we are determined to do all we can to disrupt criminal activity, and protect the UK’s border security.

“Our investigation continues following these arrests.”