London (CNN) About £4 million ($5 million) worth of gold was seized at London's Heathrow Airport by Border Force officers as part of an international investigation into a suspected South American drugs cartel.

The gold, which weighed 104 kilograms (229 pounds), was on its way to Switzerland from the Cayman Islands when it was seized on June 1. No arrests were made, police said.

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) -- a governmental law enforcement organization -- reported that the gold was believed to have originated in Venezuela, from where it was transported to the Cayman Islands on a private jet.

Border Force agents at Heathrow Airport subsequently moved in to detain the shipment when it arrived in the UK, based on intelligence provided by the NCA.

Further progress to stop the UK being used as a route for illicit finance. Excellent work by our international network & others supported by @ukhomeoffice Border Force https://t.co/89O90OPvxX — Lynne Owens (@NCA_LynneOwens) July 20, 2019

"We believe that this shipment was linked to drugs cartels operating out of South America," Steve McIntyre, NCA Heathrow branch commander, said in a statement. "Working with partners overseas and in the UK, we were able to quickly identify it and stop its onward movement.

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