Six people have been arrested after a yacht believed to be carrying £60m of cocaine was seized off the coast of Wales.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers are searching the boat at Fishguard port in Pembrokeshire.

Some 250kg (550lb) of the drug had been found by midday on Wednesday but authorities believe another 500kg (1,102lb) could be on board.

Image: The NCA and Border Force were assisted by Dyfed-Powys Police

The yacht, named Sy Atrevido, had travelled from South America.

Two British nationals, aged 41 and 53, were arrested on board.


Four others - three men aged, 23, 31 and 47, and a 30-year-old woman, were arrested in Liverpool and Loughborough and later released on bail until late September.

Image: Authorities believe 750kg of the drug could eventually be found on board

Border Force ship HMC Protector intercepted the yacht half a mile off the coast on Tuesday morning.

The huge drug bust is part of long-term investigation by the NCA into an organised group smuggling drugs into the UK.

"We believe at the moment what we've taken off the boat has a wholesale value of £8m, and the street value of that will be in excess of £20m," said Craig Naylor, deputy director of investigations for the NCA.

"That's likely to rise as we take more product off the boat, so as an estimate the wholesale value would be £20m in total, and a street value of £60m

"This is a very high end job - 750kg (1,654lb) of cocaine. You don't come across that every day of the week."

Mr Naylor said he believed it to be the second biggest seizure by the NCA in recent years.