Latest news straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

An astonishing cocaine haul with an eye-watering street value of more than £20million was discovered in Birmingham.

And it is one of the biggest seizures ever recorded in the UK.

Much of the Class A drug, discovered by West Midlands Police, was destined for the streets of London.

Two men have now pleaded guilty to drug offences following the seizure.

A team of the Met's Specialist Crime officers, supported by West Midlands Police, carried out a stop of a vehicle on the A45 on December 11, reports MyLondon.

On the same day, a further search was carried out at an address in Olds Trading Estate Park in Hockley, Birmingham.

Officers discovered 168kg of cocaine within the vehicle.

A further 4kg of cocaine and MDMA and 1kg of cutting agent were discovered at the Midlands address.

Baldev Singh Sahota, 53, and Shakti Gupta, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Birmingham Crown Court on January 9.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

The operation targeting a sophisticated drug supply chain was led by detectives from the Met's Specialist Crime Command.

Intelligence gathered led detectives to believe significant quantities of drugs were destined for supply on the streets of London.

A large quantity of Class A drugs had been mixed among pallets of frozen food.

Detective Superintendent Neil Ballard said:"This operation has resulted in one of the largest land seizures of cocaine within the UK.

"It is a significant find which demonstrates the scale of this organised drug supply operation which the Met has successfully dismantled.

"The audacity of those involved and the lack of consideration for the impact of their criminality is clear.

"We have continually stated there is an inextricable link between the supply of drugs and the violence we have seen unfolding on the streets of London.

"The distribution of this cocaine would have no doubt had a devastating impact on our communities.

"We will continue to deal robustly with those who seek to supply drugs, exploit young people and target the most vulnerable within our city for the sole purpose of financial gain - often instigating violent acts and placing young people at risk of harm and criminalisation in the process.

"This should send a clear message to anyone involved in this type of organised criminality that that we will not only go after those directly supplying drugs to our communities, but we will use all the powers available to us to dismantle the wider networks and cut off the source of supply.

"We work closely with other units across the Met and key partners including the NCA, Regional Organised Crime Units and County Forces to tackle serious and organised criminality.

"We will continue to target the supply of drugs and reduce the harm they are causing to the communities of London and beyond.

"I'm grateful to our colleagues from West Midlands Police who supported the Met in this operation and prosecution."

Baldev Singh Sahot, of Joining Banks, Oldbury, West Midlands, and Shakti Gupta, of Hagley Road West, Quinton, Birmingham will be sentenced on February 7.