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General News of Thursday, 27 September 2012

Source: standard.co.uk

Biggest cannabis haul from Ghana seized at Heathrow Airport

Border officers at Heathrow Airport have made their biggest cannabis seizure in three years after containers arriving on a plane from Ghana were found with drugs worth £4.3million.

The drugs, which weighed around 1.5 tonnes and had a street value of £4.3 million, were found in three separate freight containers filled with fresh fruit and vegetables.

Border Force officials found the cannabis in tape-wrapped compressed packages within boxes on the flight from Accra on Monday.

After being seized the drug was taken under armed escort to a secure location, where it will be stored until it is incinerated.

Marc Owen, Heathrow Director for Border Force, said: “This was smuggling on an industrial scale. It is a significant quantity of cannabis, our biggest seizure of this kind in several years at Heathrow.

“The fact we have stopped it reaching the streets of the UK will make a substantial dent in the profits of the criminals responsible.

“The international drug trade is a vile business that Border Force officers play a key part in disrupting.”

Officers are trying to discover the intended destination of the drugs.Anyone with information should call 0800 59 5000.