Driver charged after £10m cocaine seizure
Almost 100kg of cocaine with a street value of £10 million was found hidden in a load of frozen fish by Border Force officers at Newhaven port in East Sussex.
The haul was discovered in the rear of a refrigerated van when the vehicle was searched as it came off a ferry in the early hours of Saturday morning (November 23).
Officers found 97 packages, each containing approximately 1kg of cocaine.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the drugs had been taken away for further analysis, but if cut and sold at street level it is likely the haul would have had a potential value of around £10 million.
The driver, 50-year-old James Satterley from Cookham in Maidenhead, Berkshire, was questioned by NCA officers and charged with importing Class A drugs. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear before Brighton magistrates today (November 25).
NCA Senior Investigating Officer Paul Morris said: “NCA officers are working alongside Border Force, Sussex Police, Thames Valley Police and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit to investigate this seizure and the circumstances around it.
“Working with partners we are determined to do all we can to disrupt the organised crime groups involved in the large-scale importation of Class A drugs, which fuel serious violence and impact some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Making seizures like this is an important part of that work.”
