This article is more than 4 months old

This article is more than 4 months old

Two men have been charged with conspiracy to import class A drugs after cocaine worth £3m was discovered in a purpose-built hide in a lorry that had travelled by ferry from France to Dover.

The National Crime Agency said Gary Sloan, 50, from Magheralin in Co Armagh, and Jason Bunce, 57, from Kingswood in Kent, would appear at Canterbury magistrates court on Saturday.

A 40-year-old man from Dover who was also arrested during the police operation has been released under investigation after at least 36 kg of cocaine was recovered inside the lorry.

The NCA’s regional head of investigations, Gerry McLean, said: “This was a significant seizure of class A drugs which would have generated a large amount of profit for criminals involved in drug supply.

“Crime groups involved in drugs supply are also involved in violence and exploitation, so cutting off their profits reduces the harm they can cause for our communities. Working with partners like Border Force and the PSNI, we are determined to do all we can to disrupt and dismantle gangs involved in drug trafficking.”

It has been reported that border guards have made fewer drug seizures than usual because of increased border restrictions and a significant slowdown in movement within the UK and elsewhere associated with the lockdown. Senior police sources have noted a dip in the supply of illicit drugs.

Det Supt Gareth Williams, the head of intelligence and covert policing at British Transport police, said however that the lockdown had not resulted in a reduction in the number of mostly juvenile drug runners identified across the country.

Seizures of cocaine in England and Wales tripled last year to almost 10 tonnes. The amount that enters the UK undetected could be several factors larger.